In Praise of the PhD Standard

New York: Adelphi Company, 1933. 190 by 130mm (7½ by 5 inches). Original canvas boards; 104 pp. First Edition. With 14 charts. Very Good. Irving Fisher (1867–1947) was described by Joseph Schumpeter as ​“the greatest economist the United States has ever produced”. This is his scarce book on inflation — of which there are no auction records in Rare Book Hub and no other copies currently for sale. In this book Fisher compares America’s 1933 deflation with Germany’s 1923 inflation. He concludes that a relation of at least 10% through a revaluation of Gold to the dollar is this answer to the great depression. ​“We might even abandon gold altogether, and resort to a managed currency with no base but paper. Several other nations have done this, to their distinct advantage.” Fisher then argues for a ​“compensated dollar” a dollar whose content shall be adjusted from time to time. “[W]e may expect a new economic epoch characterized by freedom from great depressions, because the monetary unit will be deliberately held constant.” In short, Fisher argues for the ​“PhD standard”. This is a term coined by financial historian James Grant who sees our move from the gold standard to a regulated one as a great folly. A scarce book from a famous economist on a highly relevant topic. At the time of cataloguing, no other copies on the market.