British monetary orthodoxy in the 1870s: A victory for the Currency Principle

Abstract

Approval of the quantity theory, of the Humean price-specie-flow mechanism (PSFM) and of lender of last resort analysis are characteristics of British monetary orthodoxy in the 1870s. But this does not mean that this orthodoxy achieved a synthesis between the Banking School and the Currency School. On the contrary, we show that it marks the victory of the Currency Principle that, in fact, did evolve after 1847, but did not rejoin Banking School ideas. The PSFM, which is essential to the Currency Principle, cannot be confused with the gold points mechanism described by Thornton and Tooke. The lender of last resort and money market theories developed by Bagehot are compatible with the dichotomy between currency and credit, a characteristic of the Currency Principle, and contrary to the thought of Thornton's and Tooke.

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