The first monetary theory of the Great Depression is often credited to Milton Friedman. Advanced to counter the idea that the Great Depression resulted from inherent capitalistic instabilities, Friedman's theory attributed the Depression to policy mistakes by an inept Federal Reserve Board. More...

This chapter compares alternative explanations of the Great Depression: the Monetarist explanation of (Friedman and Schwartz,.A Monetary History of the United States, 1867-1960, Princeton University Press, 1963), the Austrian explanation of Hayek and (Robbins,.The Great Depression, Macmillan,...

This chapter considers the law of reflux and its alternative interpretations: (1) as a monetary policy rule for stabilizing the price level and (2) as rule for individual banks to follow to remain liquid. The chapter argues that Adam Smith endorsed only the second interpretation, and that the...