An examination of the role of money in a dynamic economy within the context of theoretical developments both within, and in opposition to, the Quantity Theory tradition. The book aims to integrate the most important contributions to understanding the money economy dealing with market competition and the impact of attempts by government to manipulate the economy towards high levels of employment and output. The author emphasizes the dangers of basing economic policy upon macroeconomic analysis and stresses the relevance of the market process within a dynamic theory. Steele also shows the relevance of Hayek's work to Keynesian/monetarist controversies and examines the impact of inflation upon economic activity, which arises from distortions caused to relative prices. He also explains the importance of the Ricardo effect to the business cycle and indicates the monetarist sentiment in Keynes' early work. The author considers that the legacy of the Keynesian era has been costly in terms of human welfare and that Keynes was wrong to deny the link between money and prices as established by the Quantity Theory of money.He also notes that while the most dubious aspects of Keynes' "General Theory" received close attention, contributions within the Quantity Theory tradition were neglected until drawn upon in the development of a modern Quantity Theory - monetarism.
Preface - Introduction - Money - The Quantity Theory of Money - Money, Relative Prices and the Rate of Interest - Keynes's General Theory - Forced Saving Versus the Multiplier - Monetarism - Control of the Money Supply - International Trade and Exchange Rate Policy - Macroeconomic Demand Management - Inflation - Free Markets, Monetarism and the Austrian School - Postscript: When Keynes was a Monetarist - Appendix - Endnotes - Bibliography - Index
