Craig K. Elwell Biography
- Title:
- Specialist in Macroeconomic Policy at the Congressional Research Service (CRS)
- Position:
- NC to the question "Should the United States Return to a Gold Standard?"
- Reasoning:
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“The U.S. monetary system is based on paper money backed by the full faith and credit of the federal government [fiat money]. The currency is neither valued in, backed by, nor officially convertible into gold or silver…
A gold standard uses gold – directly or indirectly – as money. In a pure gold standard, gold itself is used in transactions, with all prices in essence expressed in terms of the amount of gold needed for purchase…
A monetary system can also be regarded as a gold standard if representations of gold are used in exchange… Typically, people think of paper currency as part of a gold standard if the notes are ‘backed’ by gold, that is, if there is for every note outstanding a certain quantity of gold stored as ‘cover.’…
For paper to represent gold, it must be regarded as equivalent to a given quantity and purity of gold. In general, this equivalence is achieved by ‘convertibility,’ the commitment to exchange the notes for gold on demand… a paper money system in which notes are convertible on demand by the issuer into gold of a given weight and purity is regarded as a gold standard.”
“Brief History of the Gold in the United States,” crs.gov, June 23, 2011
- Involvement and Affiliations:
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- Specialist in Macroeconomic Policy, Congressional Research Service (CRS)
- Education:
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- None found
- Other:
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- None found
- Quoted in:
- Pro & Con Quotes: Should the United States Return to a Gold Standard?