INVESTIGATING THE “DEBT–MONEY–PRICES” TRIANGLE: IRVING FISHER’S THEORETICAL JOURNEY TOWARD THE 100% MONEY PROPOSAL

Abstract

This paper aims to show how the 100% money proposal, which Irving Fisher came to support in 1935, connects to the rest of his work on monetary instability—in particular, to his credit cycle analysis of 1911 and his debt-deflation theory of 1932–33. Behind these respective analyses, we identify a common explanatory pattern of monetary fluctuations, the “debt–money–prices” triangle, which we use to show how Fisher’s explanations evolved over time, and how his advocacy of 100% money came as a logical conclusion.