George Tavlas on the History of Monetarism | Hoover Institution

Jon Hartley and George Tavlas discuss George’s career as an economist, including as a central banker at the Bank of Greece, the history of monetarism (including George’s new book The Monetarists), Milton Friedman, and the evolution of central banking over the past decades, including its decline since the 1980s, and its renewed post-pandemic interest. Recorded on August 29, 2025. ABOUT THE SERIES Each episode of Capitalism and Freedom in the 21st Century, a video podcast series and the official podcast of the Hoover Economic Policy Working Group, focuses on getting into the weeds of economics, finance, and public policy on important current topics through one-on-one interviews. Host Jon Hartley asks guests about their main ideas and contributions to academic research and policy. The podcast is titled after Milton Friedman‘s famous 1962 bestselling book Capitalism and Freedom, which after 60 years, remains prescient from its focus on various topics which are now at the forefront of economic debates, such as monetary policy and inflation, fiscal policy, occupational licensing, education vouchers, income share agreements, the distribution of income, and negative income taxes, among many other topics. For more information about the podcast, or subscribe for the next episode, click here.