|
on History and Philosophy of Economics |
| By: | Greitens, Jan |
| Abstract: | This paper critically examines the relationship between Georg Friedrich Knapp's "State Theory of Money" and today's Neo-Chartalism, often associated with Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). Several contributions have questioned whether the Neo-Chartalists are right to claim Knapp as their predecessor. However, these analyses do not pay sufficient attention to the historical context in which Knapp wrote. This includes contemporary debates and the monetary history of his time. The Neo-Chartalists' reception of Knapp's ideas was almost exclusively through the 1924 translation of the "State Theory of Money". Problematically, this translation has many shortcomings, in particular a narrow focus on the legislative state. But Knapp's focus was on country-specific examples of currencies, in particular the 1892 currency reform in Austria-Hungary. There are significant differences between Knapp's published and unpublished writings. Archival findings reveal Knapp's reflections on inflation, which align him with the Real Bills Doctrine and a proto-Fiscal Theory of the Price Level. He argued that monetary state financing should be used only as a last resort. Contrary to MMT's advocacy for state-funded expenditures, Knapp supported a balanced budget, expressing concern over the impact of monetary inflation on exchange rates. Apart from fairly general principles such as the nominality of money, the similarities between Knapp and the Neo-Chartalists diminish as one critically examines Knapp's writings. Therefore, the claim that MMT is based on Knapp should be rejected. |
| Keywords: | Neo-Chartalism, Georg Friedrich Knapp, Modern Monetary Theory (MMT), Real Bills Doctrine, Fiscal Theory of the Price Level |
| JEL: | B31 E42 B50 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esprep:340197 |
| By: | Mariano Arana (Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas. Instituto Interdisciplinario de Economía Política (IIEP UBA–CONICET). Buenos Aires, Argentina.); Camilo Mason (Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas. Instituto Interdisciplinario de Economía Política (IIEP UBA–CONICET). Buenos Aires, Argentina.) |
| Abstract: | Este Documento de Trabajo examina un conjunto de artículos periodísticos de Julio H. G. Olivera publicados entre noviembre de 1955 y enero de 1956, en el marco del debate suscitado por el denominado Plan Prebisch tras el golpe militar de septiembre de 1955. El documento señala que estos escritos -relativamente desconocidos en la literatura- constituyen la primera intervención sistemática de Olivera en el debate público de política económica y revelan sus primeras aproximaciones a una teoría no monetaria de la inflación. El análisis muestra que Olivera compartía con Prebisch un diagnóstico estructural de la crisis argentina, aunque divergía en los objetivos de la política de estabilización. |
| Keywords: | Plan Prebisch; Julio H. G. Olivera; Pensamiento económico argentino; Política económica; Economistas argentinos; Peronismo; Inflación estructural |
| JEL: | E65 E31 N16 B22 B25 B31 |
| Date: | 2026–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ake:iiepdt:2026-117 |