How have recent events and research shaped the long-standing debate between champions of monetary discretion on one hand and of monetary rules on the other? What has the recent crisis taught us regarding the sort of rules that might, or might not, contribute to monetary stability? What, if any, role would there be for emergency lending in a rule-based monetary system? Can one have a rule-based monetary policy even in the present near-zero interest rate environment? These are some of the questions to be addressed in an academic conference that’s to take place on September 7th, at George Mason University’s Arlington Campus.

The conference, for which Cato’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives and George Mason’s Mercatus Center have joined forces, will bring together many of the leading lights in the field of monetary policy reform. In a series of sessions consisting of presentations followed by moderated discussions, these experts will reconsider the case for rule-based monetary policy in light of recent, ah, ups and downs of discretionary monetary policy.

If you are in the DC area, or plan to be here in early September, you won’t want to miss this. You’ll find more details, including a list of the participating luminaries and a link to the event’s registration page, here.