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Colonial American Paper Money and the Quantity Theory of Money: An Extension

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 November 2018

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Abstract

The quantity theory of money is applied to the paper money regimes of seven of the nine British North American colonies south of New England. Individual colonies, and regional groupings of contiguous colonies treated as one monetary unit, are tested. Little to no statistical relationship, and little to no magnitude of influence, between the quantities of paper money in circulation and prices are found. The quantity theory of money does not explain the value and performance of colonial paper monies well. This is a general and widespread result, and not a rare and isolated phenomenon.

Type
Research Article
Information
Social Science History , Volume 43 , Issue 1 , Spring 2019 , pp. 185 - 207
Copyright
© Social Science History Association, 2018 

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Footnotes

*

I gratefully acknowledge research assistance by Cory Cutsail, Hong Guo, Zhuo Liu, and Changqing Mu, and editorial assistance by Tracy McQueen.

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