because of the then internationally prevailing gold exchange standard, the Federal Reserve's hands were tied. According to Eichengreen, in order to maintain the credibility of the gold standard, the Federal Reserve could not undertake actions (such as drastically increasing the money supply) in the manner advocated by Friedman and Schwartz. James Tobin, while appreciating the rigor with which Friedman and Schwartz demonstrated the importance of the monetary supply, questions their measures of the velocity of money and how informative this measure of the frequency of monetary transactions really is to understanding the macroeconomic fluctuations of the early-to-mid 20th century. Austrian Anarcho-Capitalist economist Murray Rothbard has argued that the money supply actually increased during the time period where Friedman claimed the Federal Reserve contracted the money supply. He uses this argument to say that the Great Depression was a manifestation of the Austrian Business Cycle Theory. Although Rothbard and Friedman both hold the belief that the Great Depression was a result of the Federal Reserve, the two do not agree on the fundamental question of whether or not a central bank should exist. See also Great Contraction Free to Choose Notes External links 1963 non-fiction books Books about capitalism Books about economic history Financial history of the United States Finance books Works by Milton Friedman 1963 in economics Collaborative non-fiction books Books about the economy of the United States