Lloyd Wynn Mints (1888–1989) was an American economist, notable for his contributions to the

quantity theory of money In monetary economics, the quantity theory of money (often abbreviated QTM) is one of the directions of Western economic thought that emerged in the 16th-17th centuries. The QTM states that the general price level of goods and services is directly ...

Biography

Born in South Dakota, Lloyd Mints moved with his family in 1888 to Missouri and then in 1901 to

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a home rule city that is the county seat and most populous municipality of Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, making it the 12th most populous city in Color ...

. He received from the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

his bachelor's degree in 1914 and master's degree in 1915. He was a secondary school teacher in

Cripple Creek, Colorado Cripple Creek is a statutory city that is the county seat of Teller County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 1,155 at the 2020 United States Census. Cripple Creek is a former gold mining camp located southwest of Colorado Sprin ...

from 1915–1917 and then moved to Washington, D.C. as an analyst in a federal office. In 1918 he was transferred to Chicago. In 1919 Mints enrolled as a graduate student at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

, where he was assigned to teach undergraduate courses. He completed several graduate courses in economics and was promoted to assistant professor of political economy in 1923. He taught introductory economics courses until 1928 when he was put in charge of teaching money and banking courses. He retired as professor emeritus in 1953. Mints was an advocate of the view that the

Federal Reserve System The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States of America. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a ...

should have increased the quantity of money during the years from 1929 to 1933. Mints was also a main critic of the

real bills doctrine The real bills doctrine says that as long as bankers lend to businessmen only against the security (collateral) of short-term 30-, 60-, or 90-day commercial paper representing claims to real goods in the process of production, the loans will be jus ...

in the 20th century. Mints had a strong influence on development of Chicago monetary economics, in particular on Milton Friedman's thinking.

Selected publications

Articles

*Mints, Lloyd, "The Elasticity of Banknotes," Journal of Political Economy, 38, August 1920, pp. 458–71. *Mints, Lloyd, "Open Market Borrowing to Finance the Production of Goods Sold for Future Delivery," Journal of Political Economy, 31, February 1923, pp. 128–38. *Mints, Lloyd, "Expansion of Fixed and Working Capital by Open Market Borrowing," Journal of Political Economy, 31, April 1923, pp. 299–302. *Mints, Lloyd, "Monetary Policy," Review of Economics and Statistics, 28, May 1946, pp. 60–69. *Mints, Lloyd, "Monetary Policy and Stabilization," American Economic Review (Supplement), 41, May 1951, pp. 188–193. *Mints, Lloyd and others, "Monetary Policy: Discussion," American Economic Review (Supplement), 43, May 1953, pp. 54–60.

Books

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mints, Lloyd 1888 births 1989 deaths 20th-century American economists University of Colorado alumni University of Chicago faculty American centenarians Men centenarians