Fiscal Discriminations in Three Wars

George Hall and Thomas Sargent

No 19008, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: In 1790, a U.S. paper dollar was widely held in disrepute (something shoddy was not 'worth a Continental'). By 1879, a U.S. paper dollar had become 'as good as gold.' These outcomes emerged from how the U.S. federal government financed three wars: the American Revolution, the War of 1812, and the Civil War. In the beginning, the U.S. government discriminated greatly in the returns it paid to different classes of creditors; but that pattern of discrimination diminished over time in ways that eventually rehabilitated the reputation of federal paper money as a store of value.

JEL-codes: E4 E6 H5 H6 N11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013-05
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Published as Hall, George J. & Sargent, Thomas J., 2014. "Fiscal discriminations in three wars," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 148-166.

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Journal Article: Fiscal discriminations in three wars (2014)
Working Paper: Fiscal Discriminations in Three Wars (2013)
Working Paper: Fiscal Discriminations in Three Wars
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