Read This First

• "The Limits of Monetary Policy" by James A. Dorn (from the Cato Handbook for Congress , 193–202. Washington : Cato Institute, 2003)
  What monetary policy can and can’t do in a nutshell, and recommendations for reform.

On the Theory and History of Monetary Policy

• A Monetary History of the United States, 1867–1960 by Milton Friedman and Anna J. Schwartz (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1963)
  This detailed survey was a landmark in monetary history—placed a large share of the responsibility for the Great Depression on the Federal Reserve's misconduct of monetary policy.
• “The Role of Monetary Policy” by Milton Friedman (American Economic Review 58 (1968): 1–17)
  A classic statement of the link between money and prices, the impact of monetary disturbances on business fluctuations, and the role of monetary policy in promoting long-run price stability and prosperity.
• Monetary Policy in the United States: An Intellectual and Institutional History by Richard H. Timberlake (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993)
  A history of the origins of the Federal Reserve, the nature of central banking, and a critique of Fed policy.

On Reforming Monetary Policy

• The Future of Money in the Information Age edited by James A. Dorn (Washington: Cato Institute, 1997)
  The implications of the information revolution, financial innovation, and globalization for the future of money, especially the impact digital cash may have on the government's monopoly on currency.
• The Search for Stable Money edited by James A. Dorn and Anna J. Schwartz (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987)
  Alternatives to discretionary monetary policy and government fiat money. Includes essays by Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman, and James Buchanan.

• Denationalisation of Money: The Argument Refined (extended edition) by F.A. Hayek (London: Institute of Economic Affairs, 1978)
  The case for private currency competition as an alternative to government fiat money.
• The Theory of Monetary Institutions by Lawrence H. White (Malden, Mass.: Blackwell, 1999)
  An excellent text on alternative monetary regimes with a useful survey of the literature.
• The Fluttering Veil: Essays on Monetary Disequilibrium by Leland B. Yeager (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1997)
  The case for money of stable value and how to attain it.
• “International Financial Crises: What Role for Government?” ( Cato Journal 23, no. 1)
  The most recent of several issues of the Cato Journal devoted to monetary policy in past years.