A bitcoin's value derives solely from the belief that others will want to use it for trade, which implies that its purchasing power is likely to fluctuate over time to a degree that will limit its usefulness.
Responses
Responses weighted by each expert's confidence
Participant | University | Vote | Confidence | Bio/Vote History |
---|---|---|---|---|
Daron Acemoglu |
MIT | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Alberto Alesina |
Harvard | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
|
||||
Joseph Altonji |
Yale | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Alan Auerbach |
Berkeley | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
David Autor |
MIT | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Katherine Baicker |
University of Chicago | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Marianne Bertrand |
Chicago | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Raj Chetty |
Harvard | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Judith Chevalier |
Yale | Bio/Vote History | ||
Unlike government issued fiat money, there is no guarantee it can be used to pay taxes or settle other obligations.
|
||||
Janet Currie |
Princeton | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
David Cutler |
Harvard | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Angus Deaton |
Princeton | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Darrell Duffie |
Stanford | Bio/Vote History | ||
Bitcoin usefulness is limited mainly by other factors. Currencies can be useful for trade in large part because they are accepted for trade.
|
||||
Aaron Edlin |
Berkeley | Bio/Vote History | ||
It is likely to fluctuate in value in the future for the reasons it has fluctuated in the past, whatever those are.
|
||||
Barry Eichengreen |
Berkeley | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Ray Fair |
Yale | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Pinelopi Goldberg |
Yale | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Claudia Goldin |
Harvard | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Austan Goolsbee |
Chicago | Bio/Vote History | ||
Hahahaha. ROTFL.
|
||||
Michael Greenstone |
University of Chicago | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Robert Hall |
Stanford | Bio/Vote History | ||
In principle, production cost puts a ceiling on its value, but there is no floor. No protection from competition, unlike the dollar.
|
||||
Bengt Holmström |
MIT | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Caroline Hoxby |
Stanford | Bio/Vote History | ||
First part is right: value derives frm belief others want to use it for trade. Second part is not obvious: beliefs could stabilize or not.
|
||||
Kenneth Judd |
Stanford | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Anil Kashyap |
Chicago Booth | Bio/Vote History | ||
It is already trading like a speculative asset and no reason why that will cease.
|
||||
Pete Klenow |
Stanford | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Jonathan Levin |
Stanford | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Eric Maskin |
Harvard | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
William Nordhaus |
Yale | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Maurice Obstfeld |
Berkeley | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Emmanuel Saez |
Berkeley | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
José Scheinkman |
Columbia University | Bio/Vote History | ||
Fiat currencies depend on belief others will use it, but national currencies can be used for taxes and can depend on some gov. support.
|
||||
Richard Schmalensee |
MIT | Bio/Vote History | ||
This is a very new animal; hard to be confident about it.
|
||||
Hyun Song Shin |
Princeton | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Nancy Stokey |
University of Chicago | Bio/Vote History | ||
As is true for any fiat money---and also for any commodity money.
|
||||
Richard Thaler |
Chicago Booth | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Christopher Udry |
Northwestern | Bio/Vote History | ||
|
||||
Luigi Zingales |
Chicago Booth | Bio/Vote History | ||
|