Money & Banking

Money is one half of almost every transaction. We accept it and pay with it, even though we can’t consume it. Money, monetary exchange, and monetary institutions have been at the center of nearly every every important world event for centuries, from the industrial revolution to the great depression; from the postwar boom to the more recent post-COVID inflation.

The goal of this class is to give you the tools to understand the role of the institutions of money, banking, and financial markets, and the problems both solved and caused by them. The course involves both history and theory. By the end of the class you should be able to identify the role of money in both historical and current events, and to interpret the likely consequences of policy changes with a monetary component.

The course covers the following units:

1. What Is (And Isn’t) Money?
2. Transaction Costs and Trade
3. The History of Money and Banks
4. The Operation of Private Banking
5. The Supply and Demand for Money
6. The Origin of Central Banks
7. The Fed’s Balance Sheet
8. The Targets of Monetary Policy
9. Non-Balance-Sheet Tools
10. Exchange Rate Crises
11. Monetary Reform