View source for George Selgin

{{wikipedia text|George Selgin|419007207}}

{{Infobox economist
| name             = George Selgin
| school_tradition = [[Austrian School]]
| color            = firebrick
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| birth_date       = <!--{{birth date and age|1957|MM|DD}}-->
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| nationality      = [[American]]
| institution      = [[University of Georgia]]
| field            = [[Macroeconomics]], [[Monetary theory]] and [[Banking theory]], [[Monetary history]]
| alma_mater       = [[New York University]]  <small>([[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]]) 1986</small><br> [[Drew University]] <small>([[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]]) 1979</small>
| opposed          = 
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}}

'''George A. Selgin''' (born 1957) is a professor of [[economics]] in the [[Terry College of Business]] at the [[University of Georgia]], a senior fellow at the [[Cato Institute]] in Washington DC, and an associate editor of ''[[Econ Journal Watch]]''.[http://www.aier.org/ejw] Selgin formerly taught at [[George Mason University]], the [[University of Hong Kong]], and [[West Virginia University]].

He is one of the founders, along with [[Kevin Dowd]] and [[Lawrence H. White]], of the Modern [[Free Banking]] School,<ref>{{cite journal
  | last = Gedeon
  | first = Shirley
  | authorlink = 
  | coauthors = 
  | title = The modern free banking school: a review
  | journal = Journal of Economic Issues
  | volume = 31
  | issue = 
  | pages = 
  | publisher = 
  | location = 
  | year = 1997
  | url = http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa5437/is_n1_v31/ai_n28685180/?tag=content;col1}}</ref> which draws its inspiration from the writings of [[Friedrich Hayek]] on denationalization of money and choice in currency.<ref>{{cite book
  | last = Hayek
  | first = Friedrich
  | authorlink = 
  | coauthors = 
  | title = Denationalisation of Money: The Argument Refined
  | publisher = Institute of Economic Affairs
  | year = 1976
  | location = London
  | pages = 
  | url = http://www.iea.org.uk/record.jsp?type=book&ID=431
  | doi = 
  | id = 
  | isbn = }}</ref>  A central claim of the Free Banking School is that the effects of government intervention in monetary systems cannot be properly appreciated except with reference to a theory of monetary [[laissez-faire]], analogous to the theory of [[free trade]] that informs the modern understanding of the effects of [[tariffs]] and other [[trade barriers]].<ref>{{cite journal| last = Selgin
  | first = George
  | coauthors = Lawrence H. White
  | title = How would the invisible hand handle money?
  | journal = Journal of Economic Literature
  | volume = 32
  | issue = 4
  | pages = 1718–49
  | publisher = American Economic Association
  | url = http://www.jstor.org/pss/2728792
  | date = December 1994 }}</ref>  The free bankers argue that, viewed in light of such a theory, [[financial crises]] and [[business cycles]] are largely attributable to misguided government interference with freely-evolved and competitive monetary arrangements, including legislation granting [[central bank]]s exclusive rights to issue paper [[currency]].<ref>E.g., {{cite journal
  | last = Selgin
  | first = George
  | authorlink = 
  | coauthors = 
  | title = Legal restrictions, financial weakening, and the lender of last resort
  | journal = The Cato Journal
  | volume = 9
  | issue = 2
  | pages = 
  | date = Fall 1989
  | url = http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cj9n2/cj9n2-9.pdf}}</ref>  

Selgin is also known for his research on [[coin]]age, including studies of [[Gresham's Law]]<ref>{{cite encyclopedia
  | title = Gresham's Law
  | encyclopedia = EH.Net Encyclopedia | date = June 9, 2003
  | url = http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/selgin.gresham.law }}</ref> and of private minting of coins during Great Britain's [[Industrial Revolution]],<ref>{{cite book
  | last = Selgin
  | first = George
  | authorlink = 
  | coauthors = 
  | title = Good Money: Birmingham Button Makers, the Royal Mint, and the Beginnings of Modern Coinage
  | publisher = The University of Michigan Press and the [[Independent Institute]]
  | year = 2008
  | location = Ann Arbor | isbn = 0-4721-1631-2}}</ref> and for his advocacy of a "productivity norm" for monetary policy—a plan that would have policymakers target the growth-rate of nominal [[gross domestic product]] at a level that would allow the overall [[price level]] to decline along with goods' real (unit) costs of production.<ref>{{cite journal | title = Monetary Equilibrium and the Productivity Norm of Price-Level Policy | journal = The Cato Journal | date = Spring/Summer 1990 | first = George | last = Selgin | volume = 10 | issue = 1| id = | url = http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cj10n1/cj10n1-14.pdf | accessdate = 2010-08-04}}</ref>  According to Selgin, by preventing mild [[deflation]] in response to [[productivity]] gains, monetary authorities risk inadvertently fueling unsustainable booms or [[economic bubble]]s, setting the stage for consequent busts and [[recession]].<ref>{{cite journal
  | last = White
  | first = William H.
  | title = Is price stability enough?
  | journal = BIS Working Paper 205
  | publisher = [[Bank for International Settlements]]
  | location = Basel, Switzerland
  | year = 2006}}</ref>

==Education==
*[[New York University]] Ph.D. 1986
*[[Drew University]] B.A. 1979

==Books==
*''Good Money: Birmingham Button Makers, the Royal Mint, and the Beginnings of Modern Coinage'' (2008). ISBN 978-0-472-11631-7.
*''Bank Deregulation and Monetary Order'' (1996). ISBN 0-415-14056-0.
*''[http://mises.org/books/less_than_zero_selgin.pdf Less Than Zero: The Case for a Falling Price Level in a Growing Economy]'' (1997). ISBN 0-255-36402-4.
*''Readings in Money and Banking'' (1995). ISBN 0-536-58930-5.
*''[http://files.libertyfund.org/files/2307/Selgin_1544_EBk_v5.1.pdf The Theory of Free Banking: Money Supply under Competitive Note Issue]'' (1988). ISBN 0-8476-7578-5.

==See also==
* [[Free banking]] 

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Links==
{{Contact faculty|selgin@uga.edu}}
*[http://www.terry.uga.edu/~selgin/ Selgin's faculty homepage]

*At [[Mises.org]]
** [http://mises.org/media.aspx?action=author&ID=144 Media archive] 
** [http://mises.org/literature.aspx?action=author&Id=144 Literature archive] 
** [http://mises.org/articles.aspx?AuthorId=144 Daily Article archive] 
 
*Interview of Selgin in the [[Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond]]'s ''Region Focus''.[http://www.richmondfed.org/publications/research/region_focus/2009/winter/full_interview.cfm]
*[[EconTalk]] podcast, "Selgin on Free Banking" [http://www.econtalk.org/archives/_featuring/george_selgin/]
*Selgin on [[YouTube]], lecture on "The Private Supply of Money" [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gn55fTRXZw]

* {{wplink}}

{{Austrian School economists}}

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| NAME              = Selgin, George
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| SHORT DESCRIPTION =
| DATE OF BIRTH     = 1957
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| DATE OF DEATH     =
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}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Selgin, George}}
[[Category:Austrian School economists]]