Jonathan Newman

Dr. Jonathan Newman is a Fellow at the Mises Institute. He earned his PhD at Auburn University while a Research Fellow at the Mises Institute. He was the recipient of the 2021 Gary G. Schlarbaum Award to a Promising Young Scholar for Excellence in Research and Teaching. Previously, he was Associate Professor of Economics and Finance at Bryan College. He has published in the Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics and in volumes edited by Matthew McCaffrey and Per Bylund. His research focuses on Austrian economics, inflation and business cycles, and the history of economic thought. He has taught courses on Macroeconomics and Quantitative Economics: Uses and Limitations in the Mises Graduate School. He is the author of three children’s books: The Broken Window, Ludwig the Builder, and The Magic Coin. His commentary appears regularly in the Mises Wire and Power & Market.

Articles

MMT Is Wrong about the History of the Origins of Money

05/07/2025 Mises Wire Jonathan Newman

Proponents of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) think that money is a “creature of the state.” They say that money is whatever the state says it is, and that this is instituted primarily through taxation...

Dave Smith vs. Douglas Murray and the State’s Intellectuals

04/14/2025 Power & Market Jonathan Newman

“The most dangerous man, to any government, is the man who is able to think things out for himself, without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos.” - H.L. Mencken Murray Rothbard has a...

Training Young Economists

04/05/2025 Mises Wire Jonathan Newman

This article was originally delivered as a lecture at Educating for Liberty: Mises Circle in Tampa on February 22. Transcript edited for clarity. I want to talk about how we can train young children...

Publications

The Magic Coin

05/06/2025 Jonathan Newman

The Magic Coin tells the story of a girl who goes on a time-traveling adventure through the history of money and banking. The book makes it easy and fun for children to learn the most important concepts in Murray Rothbard’s What Has Government Done

For a New Liberty: Discussion Questions

04/17/2024 Jonathan Newman

This guide is based on Jonathan Newman’s fall 2023 Mises Book Club discussions of Murray Rothbard’s For a New Liberty: The Libertarian Manifesto.

Media

The Method Behind Real Economic Thinking

05/05/2025 Robert P. Murphy Jonathan Newman

Jonathan Newman joins Bob Murphy to explore what economics really is, why it matters, and how the revamped Mises Academy is helping teach it the right way.

Menger vs. MMT on the Origins of Money

04/05/2025 Robert P. Murphy Jonathan Newman

Jonathan Newman joins Bob to explore the archaeological evidence for silver as money in ancient Mesopotamia, challenging Modern Monetary Theory and affirming Menger’s classic account of money’s market origins.

Anti-MMT Panel

03/25/2025 Per Bylund Lucas M. Engelhardt Joshua Mawhorter Jonathan Newman Patrick Newman Joseph T. Salerno

This panel exposes flawed assumptions of Modern Monetary Theory, including the origins of money, government spending, job guarantees, entrepreneurship, and economic growth.