After a successful inaugural offering in 2018, the Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives at the Cato Institute is pleased to announce that Alternative Money University – our 3-day academic workshop for students interested in monetary economics – is coming back in July 2019.

As followers of Alt-M know well, now is an exciting time to study topics of monetary economics and policy. After years of unconventional monetary policy, the Federal Reserve and other central banks are continuing policy normalization agendas, including the reduction of historic balance sheets, while concurrently managing a moderation in economic growth. Moreover, real-time experiments in monetary economics are playing out in the form of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, stablecoins, and more. Such developments mean that a grasp on monetary history, the theory and practice of monetary policy, and the workings of alternative monetary arrangements is more important than ever.

Alternative Money University will help 30 qualified students to develop such an understanding by participating in a series of seminars taught by leading scholars in the field. Along with a special keynote address by John Taylor, Mary and Robert Raymond Professor of Economics at Stanford University and the George P. Shultz Senior Fellow in Economics at the Hoover Institution, this year's seminars will include:

• “The Evolution of Money and Banks,” taught by George Selgin, Director of Cato’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives and Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Georgia.
• “Private Currencies: Past, Present, and Future,” taught by Lawrence H. White, Professor of Economics at George Mason University and Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute.
• “Theoretical Underpinnings of Market Monetarism,” taught by David Beckworth, Director of the Monetary Policy Program at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and host of the Macro Musings podcast.
• “The Place of Monetary Institutions in Monetary Theory,” taught by Randall Wright, Ray B. Zemon Professor of Liquid Assets at the University of Wisconsin School of Business.
• “Monetary Policy in a Post-Crisis World,” taught by Scott Sumner, Ralph G. Hawtrey Chair of Monetary Policy at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and Professor Emeritus at Bentley University.

By the end of the 3-day workshop, students will be better equipped to evaluate current monetary policy events as they unfold, to think critically about existing monetary arrangements, and, ultimately, to contribute themselves to the field of monetary economics.

Students in or entering their last year of undergraduate or beginning years of graduate studies are invited to apply. Successful applicants will be chosen on the basis of their academic records and demonstrated interest in monetary economics. Those chosen to take part will attend free of charge with hotel and travel expenses covered by the Cato Institute.

If you wish to apply, or to learn more about the program, visit www.cato.org/amu. Applications are open until January 31, 2019.