The Money Illusion: Market Monetarism, the Great Recession, and the Future of Monetary Policy

Name: The Money Illusion: Market Monetarism, the Great Recession, and the Future of Monetary Policy
Price: 3.99 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.3 (36 reviews)
Author: Scott Sumner

by Scott Sumner

Nonfiction Business

4.3 (36)

$3.99Deal85% off peak

Last checked: Jul 20, 2026

Price history: $2.99 – $26.49

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Price range: $2.99 – $26.49

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Perfect for you if...

You're curious whether mainstream economics got the Great Recession diagnosis completely wrong and want to understand the alternative explanation.
You follow monetary policy debates and want to read the definitive case for market monetarism from the economist who built the theory.
You appreciate contrarian arguments backed by rigorous economics, not political hand-wringing about who to blame.

Maybe not for you if...

You want a narrative history of 2008 with stories about traders, bankers, or collapsed institutions.
You're looking for policy prescriptions that match your existing political ideology rather than following the logic where it leads.
You find macroeconomic theory inaccessible even when explained clearly, because this book assumes some comfort with GDP, inflation, and monetary aggregates.

About this book

The first book-length treatment of market monetarism, presented by its leading scholar. Scott Sumner argues that the consensus explanation for the 2008 Great Recession may be fundamentally mistaken. Just as Milton Friedman and Anna Schwartz prompted the economics community in the 1960s to reconsider what caused the Great Depression, a similar reassessment may now be occurring regarding the first major economic crisis of the 21st century. Rather than focusing on housing markets and banking crises, Sumner contends that the Great Recession resulted from a single factor: nominal GDP—the total nominal spending in the economy—which the Federal Reserve allowed to decline sharply. The Money Illusion presents a comprehensive case for market monetarism, built on standard macroeconomic concepts and written in accessible language. Sumner outlines how monetary policy can function most effectively by establishing a stable environment for market economies to operate.

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Price History

Kindle price over time. Green zones = periods when the book was free.

$2.99 – $26.49

Currently on sale at $3.99 — 85% off peak. Price has dropped 15 times over the last 5 years. Goes on sale roughly every 53 days. Typically stays discounted for 17 days.

Sales Rank

Amazon sales rank: lower number = better selling book. #1 is the bestseller.

Currently around #148K in the Kindle store — a niche title.

Rating & Reviews

Purple line = star rating over time. Blue area = total review count growth.

Currently 4.3★ from 36 reviews

Review activity has been quiet recently. Rating has dipped slightly from 4.6 to 4.3.

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Actual Predicted

This book is currently discounted at $3.99. It typically returns to around $26.49.

Prices shown in USD from Amazon US. We continuously pull new data to improve tracking. If dates look old, it usually means there has been no significant change since the last data point.

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