It is my pleasure to announce the winners of the Sound Money Project Essay Contest.
First Prize – $10,000
Bryan Cutsinger
On the Feasibility of Returning to the Gold Standard
Second Prize – $2,000
Karl-Friedrich Israel
The Fiat Money Illusion: On the Cost-efficiency of Modern
Central Banking
Third Prize – $1,000
Hossein Nabilou
Testing the Waters of the Rubicon: The ECB and Central Bank Digital Currencies
Participants were asked to address the following prompt:
In 1971, President Richard Nixon ended convertibility, thereby eliminating the last vestiges of the gold standard. The classical gold standard, which prevailed from 1873 to 1914, had anchored inflation expectations, enabled long term contracting, and promoted international trade. This historical experience has prompted several reconsiderations of resumption over the years, including the Gold Commission in 1980, the International Financial Institution Advisory Commission of 1998, and, more recently, calls for a Centennial Monetary Commission. What are the merits of returning to the gold standard? Is such a system feasible today?
The Sound Money Project Essay Contest is designed to promote scholarship in monetary and macroeconomics. More specifically, it aims to encourage those working at the cutting edge of the discipline to consider the monetary institutions that would reduce nominal disturbances and promote economic growth.
