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38th Annual Monetary Conference — Digital Currency: Risk or Promise?

monetary conference social image

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically increased the demand for cash and placed a spotlight on the promise of digital currency. But risks remain. Cato’s 38th Annual Monetary Conference brought together leading experts to examine the risks and promise of central bank vs. private (centralized and decentralized) digital currencies. 

Digital Dollars: In Whom Should We Trust?

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Efforts to bring economic relief to households and businesses during the COVID-19 emergency have once again exposed the inadequacy of the U.S. payments system. Many people believe the solution is to have more widespread access to digital payments, yet there is no consensus on which of the available alternatives would best meet the goals of speed, cost‐​effectiveness, inclusion, and continued innovation. This online panel of experts debated the merits and potential downsides of various options, offering a glimpse into the likely evolution of U.S. retail payments in the coming decade.

The Community Reinvestment Act in the Age of Fintech and Bank Competition

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The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) requires banks to lend to low‐ and moderate‐​income (LMI) households in the areas where they take deposits. However, the competitive environment is much changed from when the CRA came into force in 1977, and mounting evidence suggests the CRA is either ineffective or damaging. A new study from Cato scholar Diego Zuluaga argues that there is a strong case for repealing the CRA in favor of alternative policies that better achieve its goals.

Policy Scholars

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John A. Allison
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James A. Dorn
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Steve H. Hanke
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Gerald P. O'Driscoll Jr.
Jennifer Schulp cropped
Jennifer J. Schulp
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George Selgin
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Diego Zuluaga
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Todd Zywicki

Subtopics

  • Finance and Banking
  • Financial Crises and the Global Financial System
  • Financial Regulation
  • Housing Markets
  • The Fed and Monetary Policy

Featured

Blog

The New Deal and Recovery, Part 9: The AAA

By George Selgin.

Just how should one weigh the AAA’s supposedly positive, if modest, contribution to economic recovery in the 1930s against its regressive and environmentally damaging long‐​run legacy?

Commentary

Avoiding Latin America’s Currency Disasters

By Steve H. Hanke. inFocus Quarterly.

The adjustment of banks’ portfolios is the mechanism that allows for a smooth flow of liquidity (and credit) into and out of the banking system (and the economy).

Blog

The Economics of Divestment

By Jeffrey Miron and Peter Van Doren.

Disinvestment does promote the objectives of its advocates; but claims that doing so is costless do not stand up to theory or evidence.

Commentary

Hanke’s Inflation Dashboard: Venezuela Still Leads

By Steve H. Hanke. National Review (Online).

The country is still firmly in the grip of hyperinflation, with an annual inflation rate of 2,436 percent by my measure.

Blog

Has Bitcoin Succeeded?

By Lawrence H. White.

If Bitcoin will continue to thrive as an investment and medium‐​of‐​exchange‐​in‐​waiting “until the authorities do better” at managing fiat money (and at allowing financial privacy), then Bitcoin may thrive for a long time to come.

Commentary

Another Junk Currency, the Iraqi Dinar, Bites the Dust

By Steve H. Hanke. National Review (Online).

The adoption of a stable international currency would have avoided the pitfalls of Iraqi central banking and would have immediately provide Iraqis with stable money.

Subtopics

  • Finance and Banking
  • Financial Crises and the Global Financial System
  • Financial Regulation
  • Housing Markets
  • The Fed and Monetary Policy

Multimedia

Jill Carlson on cryptocurrencies and civil liberties

Featuring Jill Carlson. January 1, 2021.

Steve H. Hanke discusses Lebanon’s economic crisis on Annahar TV

Featuring Steve H. Hanke. December 26, 2020.

How COVID-19 Changed the Federal Reserve

Featuring James A. Dorn and Caleb O. Brown. December 23, 2020.

Steve H. Hanke discusses gold potentially entering a bull “super cycle” in 2021 on Kitco News

Featuring Steve H. Hanke. December 22, 2020.
More Multimedia

Events

Live Online Conference

38th Annual Monetary Conference — Digital Currency: Risk or Promise?

November 19, 2020 10:00 AM to 4:45 PM EST
Live Online

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically increased the demand for cash and placed a spotlight on the promise of digital currency. But risks remain. Cato’s 38th Annual Monetary Conference will bring together leading experts to examine the risks and promise of central bank vs. private (centralized and decentralized) digital currencies.

Live Online Conference

Crisis: Housing and Homelessness in California

September 22, 2020 10:00AM — 1:15PM PDT (1:00PM — 4:15PM EDT) September 23, 2020 10:00AM — 1:45PM PDT (1:00PM — 4:45PM EDT)
Live Online
Featuring Micah Weinberg, California Forward; Jennifer Hernandez, Holland & Knight; Ricardo Flores, Local Initiatives Support Corporation; Laura Foote, YIMBY Action; Steven Falk, Interim City Administrator, City of Oakland; Sonja Trauss, YIMBY Law; Adrian Covert, Bay Area Council; Kevin Faulconer, Mayor of San Diego; Lee Ohanian, UCLA; Corrin Buchanan, California Department of Social Services; Elaine Howle, California State Auditor; Michael Tanner, Cato Institute.
Live Online Conference

The Evolution of Banking: The 2020 Cato Summit on Financial Regulation

September 9, 2020 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM EDT
Live Online

Hundreds of innovative firms have now entered into payments, lending, and other consumer financial markets that banks used to dominate. These new entrants have raised the quality, lowered the cost, and expanded the reach of financial products to Americans who were previously excluded. But their growth has also raised questions about the fitness of existing regulation. Does it adequately address consumer protection and prudential concerns about these new entrants? What are the relative roles of state and federal regulators? And how can policy change best encourage entry into banking that will benefit consumers? Join us for an outstanding virtual program, featuring leading policymakers and experts, at Cato’s sixth annual Summit on Financial Regulation.

Live Online Conference Series

A Fed for Next Time: Ideas for a Crisis‐​Ready Central Bank

June 16, 2020 1:00PM-2:00PM EDT June 18, 2020 1:00PM-2:00PM EDT June 23, 2020 1:00PM-2:00PM EDT June 25, 2020 1:00PM-2:00PM EDT
Live Online

Featuring Sir Paul Tucker, chair of the Systemic Risk Council and former deputy governor of the Bank of England; Elga Bartsch, Head of Macro Research, BlackRock; Peter Stella, former Head of the International Monetary Fund’s Central Banking and Monetary and Foreign Exchange Operations Divisions; Peter Conti‐​Brown, Assistant Professor, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania; and more.

More Events

Cato Studies

Article title in foreground of the US Federal Reserve building

Maintaining Distance between Monetary and Fiscal Policy

James A. Dorn.
November 18, 2020
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Ground Proposals for “Helicopter Money”

George Selgin.
October 22, 2020
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Did Banks Pay Fair Returns to Taxpayers on the Troubled Asset Relief Program?

Thomas Flanagan and Amiyatosh Purnanandam.
September 30, 2020
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Measuring the Cost of Regulation: A Text‐​Based Approach

Harry Mamaysky, Ruoke Yang, and Charles Calomiris.
August 19, 2020
More Cato Studies

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