Selgin's research covers a broad range of topics within the field of monetary economics, including monetary history, macroeconomic theory, and the history of monetary thought. He is one of the founders, along with
Kevin Dowd and
Lawrence H. White, of the Modern
Free Banking School,[3] which draws its inspiration from the writings of
Friedrich Hayek on denationalization of money and choice in currency.[4] A central claim of the Free Banking School is that the effects of government intervention in monetary systems cannot be properly appreciated except with reference to a theory of monetary
laissez-faire, analogous to the theory of
free trade that informs the modern understanding of the effects of
tariffs and other
trade barriers.[5] The free bankers argue that, viewed in light of such a theory,
financial crises and
business cycles are largely attributable to misguided government interference with freely-evolved and competitive monetary arrangements, including legislation granting
central banks exclusive rights to issue paper
currency.[6]
Selgin is also known for his advocacy of a "productivity norm" for monetary policy—an ideal according to which the growth-rate of nominal
gross domestic product should be such as will allow the (output)
price level to decline along with goods' real (unit) costs of production—that is, at a rate opposite the growth rate of total factor productivity.[7] According to Selgin, by preventing mild
deflation in response to
productivity gains, monetary authorities risk inadvertently fueling unsustainable booms or
economic bubbles, setting the stage for consequent busts and
recession.[8] Because it requires that aggregate spending grow at a steady rate equal to the trend growth rate of weighted factor input growth, Selgin's ideal amounts to a version of nominal income targeting, which helped to inspire and inform the post-Great Recession movement favoring
NGDP targeting.
Selgin is considered a Bitcoin OG ("Original Gangsta"),[9] having taken part in the original
cypherpunk mailing list (with
Wei Dei and
Nick Szabo) that led to Bitcoin's invention, which
Hal Finney and Nick Szabo say he helped to inspire.[9] He was one of the first economists to explore the economics of Bitcoin and other
cryptocurrencies.[10] He is also an expert on the history and economics of old-fashioned metallic
coinage. His book Good Money[11] tells the story of the private minting of coins during Great Britain's
Industrial Revolution. He is one of the foremost authorities on
Gresham's Law—the oldest of all economic laws concerning money.[12][13]
Since he joined the
Cato Institute Selgin has become a leading critic of some of the
Federal Reserve's post-crisis policies, including its decision to permanently switch to an ample reserves or "floor" operating system, and its decision to build a "real time" retail payments network to compete with one established by commercial bankers.[14][15] Most recently, he has taken on the growing movement to have the Fed make use of its
Quantitative Easing powers, not solely to combat recessions, but as a means for funding ambitious government projects that can bypass Congress's normal appropriations process.[16]
Selgin is the twin brother of author and illustrator
Peter Selgin and the half brother of anthropologist
Clare Selgin Wolfowitz. His other half-sister, Ann Selgin Levy, is a fabric artist and culinary author. His father, Paul Selgin, was an
inventor whose numerous
patents include many for optical measuring devices for use in manufacturing.
^Selgin, George; Lawrence H. White (December 1994). "How would the invisible hand handle money?". Journal of Economic Literature. 32 (4). American Economic Association: 1718–1749.
JSTOR2728792.
^Selgin, George (2015-04-01). "Synthetic commodity money". Journal of Financial Stability. Special Issue: Instead of the Fed: Past and Present Alternatives to the Federal Reserve System. 17: 92–99.
doi:
10.1016/j.jfs.2014.07.002.
ISSN1572-3089.
^Selgin, George (2008). Good Money: Birmingham Button Makers, the Royal Mint, and the Beginnings of Modern Coinage. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press and the
Independent Institute.
ISBN978-0-472-11631-7.
Selgin on
YouTube, lecture on "The Private Supply of Money" (recorded at the annual Austrian Scholars Conference, Ludwig von Mises Institute, 14 March 2009)