monetarism

American  

[mon-i-tuh-riz-uhm, muhn-] / ˈmɒn ɪ təˌrɪz əm, ˈmʌn- /

noun

Economics.

1. a doctrine holding that changes in the money supply determine the direction of a nation's economy.

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monetarism British  

/ ˈmʌnɪtəˌrɪzəm /

noun

1. the theory that inflation is caused by an excess quantity of money in an economy

2. an economic policy based on this theory and on a belief in the efficiency of free market forces, that gives priority to achieving price stability by monetary control, balanced budgets, etc, and maintains that unemployment results from excessive real wage rates and cannot be controlled by Keynesian demand management

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monetarism Cultural  

1. The economic doctrine that the supply of money has a major impact on a nation's economic growth. For example, monetarists prefer to control inflation by restricting the growth of a nation's money supply rather than by raising taxes. The doctrine is associated with Milton Friedman.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• monetarist
  noun

Etymology

Origin of monetarism

An Americanism dating back to 1965–70; monetar(y) + -ism

Example Sentences

Monetarism is something “we have to unlearn,” he added.

From Barron's • May 15, 2026

Monetarism - the economic creed adopted by Thatcher's Conservative Party - was said to be a Healey invention.

From BBC • Oct. 4, 2015

Monetarism and inflation targets can rest in peace.

From The Guardian • Mar. 24, 2013

Monetarism holds that money-supply changes influence real economic variables such as employment in the short-run but only inflation over time: “inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon.”

From Economist • Jul. 26, 2012

A Court could believe in Monetarism while reality would require something differently.

From Definition & Reality in the General Theory of Political Economy by Colignatus, Thomas