THE DOG THAT DIDN’T BARK: THE CURIOUS CASE OF LLOYD MINTS, MILTON FRIEDMAN
AND THE EMERGENCE OF MONETARISM
Harris Dellas
University of Bern
George S. Tavlas
Bank of Greece
ABSTRACT
Lloyd Mints has long been considered a peripheral figure in the development of monetary economics at the University of Chicago. We provide evidence showing that the standard assessment of Mints’s standing in Chicago monetary economics -- and in American monetary economics more broadly -- is mistaken. In light of the originality and the breadth of his monetary contributions, and given the degree to which those contributions shaped part of Milton Friedman’s monetary framework and were pushed forward by Friedman, we argue that, far from being a peripheral figure in the development of Chicago monetary economics, Mints played a catalytic role.
Keywords: Lloyd Mints, Milton Friedman, monetarism, Chicago monetary tradition.
JEL Classification: B22, E52
Acknowledgments: Research for this paper was conducted while George Tavlas was a Visiting Scholar at the Becker Friedman Institute at the University of Chicago, the Center for the History of Political Economy at Duke University, and the Hoover Institution at Stanford University; and Harris Dellas was a Visiting Scholar at the Bank of Greece. The views expressed are those of the authors and not reflect those of their respective institutions.
Correspondence:
George Tavlas
Bank of Greece
21 E Venizelos Ave
Athens, 10250
Greece
Tel: +30 210 3202370
Email: gtavlas@bankofgreece.gr