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Money, Bank Credit, and Economic Cycles - The Ludwig von Mises ...

Money, Bank Credit, and Economic Cycles - The Ludwig von Mises ...

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<strong>The</strong> <strong>Credit</strong> Expansion Process 263convulsions that are very difficult, if not impossible, to mitigateor stop. This monetary <strong>and</strong> banking system contrastswith inelastic systems (for example, the one that combines theclassic gold st<strong>and</strong>ard with a 100-percent reserve requirement),which do not permit disproportionate expansion of the moneysupply (the worldwide production of gold has been growingin recent centuries at the rate of 1 to 2 percent per year). Moreoverthey offer the following advantage: due to the fact thatthese systems are inelastic (gold is indestructible <strong>and</strong> throughouthistory the world has accumulated a very inflexible stockof it), they do not permit any abrupt decline, nor (logically)any credit or monetary squeezes which exert debilitatingeffects on the economy, as opposed to the current situation forwhich the existing banking system is responsible. 4444 In the last chapter we will examine the comparative advantages of theclassic gold st<strong>and</strong>ard based on a free banking system subject to legalprinciples; that is, with a 100-percent reserve requirement.

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