| There are few economists who, simultaneously, have names as well known and works as little known as Ludwig von Mises. The latter is particularly true of The Theory of Money and Credit (first published in 1912) and others of his monetary writings. A suspicion exists that these works deserve greater recognition. The present study tests the hypothesis that Mises made no contributions to monetary theory and related topics which have not been fully recognized and credited by orthodox doctrinal historians. To do so, a set of criteria for what constitutes a "contribution" is defined. Evidence is obtained by examining Mises' monetary writings, other works on monetary theory, and doctrinal histories. It is assumed that citation in the major, orthodox doctrinal histories is what constitutes adequate recognition.;The neglct of Mises' monetary writings appears largely a consequence of delayed translations. The Theory of Money and Credit was translated in 1934 from the revised 1924 edition. The 1912 edition has never been translated, and other vital essays were not translated until recently. Thus, doctrinal historians have not recognized the seminal nature of many of Mises' contributions. This study documents the presence of vital contributions to monetary economics in the 1912 edition and falsifies the hypothesis.;Mises' intent was to integrate monetary and value theory by applying the marginal utility concept to the demand for money. First he developed, in 1912, a completely ordinal theory of utility and definition of the money stock that included notes and deposits. Neither of these contributions has been adequately recognized. Mises' effort to integrate monetary and value theory has received recognition, though his regression theorem and theory of cash holdings have been criticized. They are, however, defensible. Rigorous application of his stock demand and supply analysis allowed Mises, in 1912, to anticipate every major assumption of the modern monetary approach to international adjustment, a fact of which economic historians are unaware. Mises' analysis of inflation is also shown to be modern and largely neglected. Only his monetary business cycle theory obtained wide recognition among English speaking economists, due to his student's writings. |
