Lawrence H. White, a professor of economics at George Mason University in Virginia, will give a special guest presentation at Angelo State University at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, in the Mathematics-Computer Science (MCS) Building, 2200 Dena Dr.
Sponsored by the Texas Tech University Free Market Institute at Angelo State University, White's presentation will take place in Room 100 of the MCS Building and is free and open to the public.
In his presentation based on his book, "Better Money: Gold, Fiat, or Bitcoin," White will discuss the stability of purchasing power and the costliness of supply for gold, fiat and cryptocurrencies. Throughout most of history, the two real standards of currency have been gold and fiat (government-issued) money. The relatively recent creation of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has made it possible for people to have an additional standard of cash. White will attempt to answer the question, "Is one type of money better than the others?"
Also a senior scholar at the Cato Institute public policy think tank, White specializes in the theory and history of banking and money. He is also a distinguished senior fellow at the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics and Economics in the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He previously served as a visiting research fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research, a visiting lecturer at the Swiss National Bank, and a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
According to an ASU press release, White is also the author of "The Class of Economic Ideas," "The Theory of Monetary Institutions," "Free Banking in Britain" and "Competition and Currency." His articles on monetary theory and banking history have appeared in the American Economic Review, Journal of Economic Literature, Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking, and other leading professional journals. He is also co-editor of Econ Journal Watch and a member of the Board of Associate Editors for the Review of Austrian Economics. In 2014, he received the Adam Smith Award from the Association for Private Enterprise Education.
The Texas Tech University Free Market Institute at Angelo State University aims to advance research and teaching related to the free enterprise system and the institutional environment necessary for it to function well, and to support the missions of the ASU Norris-Vincent College of Business. The institute also develops and operates student and public programming for the benefit of ASU students and the San Angelo community.