Modern Monetary Theory (MMT): A General Introduction

MMT

Modern Monetary Theory (MMT): A General Introduction

Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) is a heterodox macroeconomic lens that recontextualizes the role of monetary and fiscal policy in sovereign governments that borrow and issue national debt in their own monetary instrument. It MMT thus describes the practical uses of fiat currency in a public monopoly on money by a government with currency-sovereignty. MMT has gained increasing “currency” in recent years as progressive political parties discuss the “costs” involved in ambitious projects to develop their societies; but has gained an even larger audience since the spread of the Covid19 pandemic, with massive liquidity being pumped into monetary systems of the First World to grapple with the global health crisis. MMT’s interesting outlook on inflation, interest rates, government spending, deficits, and debt require the careful attention of a wider public. As such, this working paper offers a simple and general introduction to MMT.

Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3569416 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3569416

Suggested Citation:Chohan, Usman W., Modern Monetary Theory (MMT): A General Introduction (April 6, 2020). CASS Working Papers on Economics & National Affairs, Working Paper ID: EC017UC (2020).

Print 🖨 PDF 📄
Tags: Economy
Post author avatar

Dr Usman W. Chohan

Dr. Usman W. Chohan is an international economist and academic who was one of the founding Directors of CASS, now serving as Advisor to President CASS on Economic Affairs & National Development. He is among the Top 100 Authors across all subjects & disciplines (out of 1.2 million authors) on the Social Science Research Network (SSRN), which is the largest open repository of knowledge in the world. At CASS, he has authored six books in the past five years: (1) Public Value & Budgeting: International Perspectives, (2) Reimagining Public Managers: Delivering Public Value, (3) Public Value and the Digital Economy, (4) Pandemics and Public Value Management, (5) Activist Retail Investors and the Future of Financial Markets (co-edited), and (6) Public Value and the Post-Pandemic Society, all published with Routledge. In the academic realm, his research has been cited widely, and Dr. Chohan has testified before various authorities based on his technical expertise. Dr. Chohan has a PhD in economics from UNSW Australia, where his doctoral work led to the world’s first multidisciplinary synthesis of independent legislative fiscal institutions, and an MBA from McGill University (Canada), with coursework at MIT-Tsinghua. His previous practitioner experience includes working at the National Bank of Canada and the World Bank. He is also the President of the International Association of Hyperpolyglots (HYPIA), the leading organization worldwide for hyperpolyglotism and whose membership consists of the speakers of six or more languages. He appears frequently on domestic and international television, podcasts, and lecture series in various languages. He is also trained in South Asian musicology and plays the sitar. In addition, Dr. Chohan has maintained an annual reading challenge of 100 books every year since 2011. Dr. Chohan’s forthcoming seventh and eighth books are titled Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs): Multidisciplinary Perspectives (edited), and Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs): Innovation and Vulnerability in the Digital Economy (co-edited).