This paper analyzes consumption- and income inequality trends in Sweden during the period 1988-2005. Similar studies for the US have found that consumption inequality has increased much less than income inequality in recent decades. Results in this paper indicate that consumption inequality...

For over seventy years, the question of what caused the Great Depression in the United States (1929–1933) has been one of the most debated economic issues. Since Friedman and Schwartz (1963), the cause has prominently been attributed to monetary mismanagement by the Fed, which let the...

Does the combination of inflation and high corporate taxes explain the increase in bank leverage in the 20th century? Inflation automatically increases bank debt, while high corporate taxes hinder capital accumulation. Capital ratios therefore drop, until leverage-induced returns are sufficient...

Contrary to received wisdom, some recent studies report a negative relationship between leverage and profitability in banking in the 1980s and early 1990s. This study presents new data on the leverage and profitability of Swedish commercial banks in 1870-2001, and explores the sign of the...

The working of the asset currency provided by the Swedish note banking system in 1878-1901 is described. Natural and institutional conditions caused the demand for currency to peak in March and September, with troughs in July and January. The paper investigates how the Enskilda banks provided...

The effects of note monopolisation on the amplitude of money and credit cycles are studied. Swedish bank data for 1871-1915 reveal that money cycles became smaller, but credit cycles larger, after the Bank of Sweden gained a note monopoly in 1904. At the same time, the money multiplier...

In the classical monetary debates, the Banking School held that notes would be equally demand-elastic whether supplied by many or a single issuer. The Free Banking School held that notes would be less demand-elastic if supplied by a single issuer. These assertions have rarely, if ever, been...

The working of the”asset currency” provided by the Swedish note banking system in 1878–1901 is described. Natural and institutional conditions caused the demand for currency to peak in March and September, with troughs in July and January. The paper investigates how the Enskilda banks...

In the classical monetary debates, the Banking School held that notes would be equally demand-elastic whether supplied by many or a single issuer. The Free Banking School held that notes would be less demand-elastic if supplied by a single issuer. These assertions have rarely, if ever, been...