Discussion — Reading 5: John Hicks

This session covers Reading 5: Three chapters from A Market Theory of Money by John Hicks (1989)

In these three chapters, Hicks starts with the idea that the primary function of money is to serve as a "standard of value" for the market. From there, he argues that the institution of banking as market making naturally emerges from the need for a smoothly operating payment system. He also ties the function money to the "real" side of the economy—the market for goods and services—which Mehrling tends not to emphasize.

Study Questions

See also Perry Mehrling's 2017 intellectual biography of John Hicks.

The Monetary Education of John Hicks

Hicks Reading Discussion Thread