The Price of Time with Edward Chancellor
The HC Commodities Podcast
00:00
The Mississippi Bubble
John Law is a Scottish project, economist, gambler who comes to France in the early 18th century. He wants to reform France's economy and financial system. And he persuades the region to let him set up a bank which has become a central bank. By increasing the note issuance, Law manages to lower interest rates from about 8% to 2%. Also running this giant holding company called the Mississippi Company. But then it all came unstuck because inflation, not asset price inflation, but commodity price inflation occurred. So there is the really first example of a central bank manipulating the money supply in order to bring down interest,. initially fueling asset price inflation - just like quantitative easing did in the
Play episode from 13:07
Transcript
