Alvin Harvey Hansen (1887-1975) Alvin Harvey Hansen was an American economist. Taught at the University of Minnesota from 1919 to 1937 and at Harvard from 1937-1960. He worked for the Economic State Department in Washington from 1934-35, and was special adviser to the Federal Reserve System between 1940 and 1945. His published work includes Cycles […]

Gustav Cassels 1866- 1945 Gustav Cassels was a Swedish economist. Professor of Political Economy at the University of Stockholm. His most important contribution to economics was an analysis of interest rates and trade cycles, dealt with in Grundrisselner Elementaren Preislehre (1900) and The Nature and Necessity of Interest (1903). His main work Theory of Social […]

Monetary History of Canada Early 1600s: Beaver pelts are the one universally accepted medium of exchange, though wheat and moose skins are also legal tender Mid 1600s: Wampum, or strings and belts made from shell beads, becomes legal tender in colonial New England. Eight white beads or four purple beads buy one penny. June 8, 1685: The […]

The Paper Chase Part II ©Copyright June 1988 The Panic of 1869, which caused gold to rally significantly, was in itself a sign to the government that paper money would not win the affections and confidence of the people just yet – this would take time. The question of what was actually money remained an […]

Part IV of IV—A Brief History of World Credit & Interest Rates by Martin A. Armstrong ©Copyright PEI  1700-Date As with most wars, noble motives are usually portrayed in some slogan that attempts to hide the true underlying financial incentives. The English Crown’s attempt to control and prevent irresponsible paper money issues among the Colonies, […]

Part III of IV—A Brief History of World Credit & Interest Rates by Martin A. Armstrong ©Copyright PEI  1690 – 1774 AD The eighteenth century was a period of strong economic and political growth for Britain. Constitutional parliamentary government, which had replaced the monarchy, appeared to foster great national expansion. The currency of Britain remained […]

Part II of IV—A Brief History of World Credit & Interest Rates by Martin A. Armstrong ©Copyright PEI  500 AD-1700 AD The fate of the Roman Empire of the West had been cast with the sack of Rome in 410 AD by the Goths followed by the Vandals in 455 AD. What was once Rome […]

Part I of IV—A Brief History of World Credit & Interest Rates by Martin A. Armstrong ©Copyright PEI  3000 BC – 500 AD—The Rise and Fall of Babylon – Greece – Rome Credit is usually thought of as a modern invention of perhaps only a few hundred years old. It is true that a few […]

Abscissa – the horizontal baseline of a chart, x-axis. Ad Valorem Tax – A tax levied as a fixed percentage of the value of a particular item. Aggregate Demand – Total planned or desired spending in the economy as a whole in a given period. It is determined by the aggregate price level and by influences such as […]

Will Leverage Cause The Financial World to Blow Up? By Martin A. Armstrong Copyright October 9th, 1998 Princeton Economic Institute There has always been the question of leverage that enters into the process of any financial panic. The degree of leverage within the system is a key factor in determining just how severe the panic […]