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Lucas and Hume on Monetary Non-Neutrality
A Tension between the Logic and the Technique of Economics
Originally published in Social Science Research Network
Translation of old economic doctrines into new technical frameworks led the profession to lose a valid theory of monetary non-neutrality. The theory relates to how additional money diffuses through the economy after entering at different points. Diffusion takes time, redistributes resources, and changes relative prices.
Translation of old economic doctrines into new technical frameworks led the profession to lose a valid theory of monetary non-neutrality. The theory relates to how additional money diffuses through the economy after entering at different points. Diffusion takes time, redistributes resources, and changes relative prices. This theory of the non-neutrality of money was introduced into economics by David Hume, among others, but it has since disappeared from the leading conversations on monetary non-neutrality. However, the disappearance was not caused by any theoretical or empirical weakness. Using Lucas's Nobel lecture as my point of departure, I argue that it disappeared because it did not fit into the popular technical frameworks.
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