First Published in 1994. Writing as a unified team, the authors, three French economists—they insist they are economists, not economic historians, though they are steeped in the monetary, financial, economic, social, and political history of Europe in the sixteenth century—have written a fascinating account of the development of means of payment at the end of the Renaissance and the beginning of the modern period. The account is limited for the most part to what they call “Latin Christianity”—primarily France, Italy, and Spain. It describes both the development of an integrated circuit of intra-European payments by means of bills of exchange negotiated at trade and payment fairs and the emergence of national systems of money of account and metallic coins at the hands of the monarchs of the emerging state system.

First Published in 1994. Writing as a unified team, the authors, three French economists—they insist they are economists, not economic historians, though they are steeped in the monetary, financial, economic, social, and political history of Europe in the sixteenth century—have written a fascinating account of the development of means of payment at the end of the Renaissance and the beginning of the modern period. The account is limited for the most part to what they call “Latin Christianity”—primarily France, Italy, and Spain. It describes both the development of an integrated circuit of intra-European payments by means of bills of exchange negotiated at trade and payment fairs and the emergence of national systems of money of account and metallic coins at the hands of the monarchs of the emerging state system.

There is a small and growing literature that explores the impact of digitization in a variety of contexts, but its economic consequences, surprisingly, remain poorly understood. This volume aims to set the agenda for research in the economics of digitization, with each chapter identifying a promising area of research. "Economics of Digitization "identifies urgent topics with research already underway that warrant further exploration from economists. In addition to the growing importance of digitization itself, digital technologies have some features that suggest that many well-studied economic models may not apply and, indeed, so many aspects of the digital economy throw normal economics in a loop. "Economics of Digitization" will be one of the first to focus on the economic implications of digitization and to bring together leading scholars in the economics of digitization to explore emerging research.

Based on detailed research and consultation with experts, including the Bank of England, this book reviews theoretical and historical debates on the nature of money and banking and explains the role of the central bank, the Government and the European Union. Following a sell out first edition and reprint, this second edition includes new sections on Libor and quantitative easing in the UK and the sovereign debt crisis in Europe.

Money is changing and this may mean a new world order. David Birch sets out the economic and technological imperatives concerning digital money, and discusses its potential impact. Tensions will inevitably arise: between old and new, between public and private, and, most importantly, between East and West. This book contributes to the debate that we must have to shape the International Monetary and Financial System of the near future.

New technologies are driving transformational changes in the global financial system. Virtual currencies (VCs) and the underlying distributed ledger systems are among these. VCs offer many potential benefits, but also considerable risks. VCs could raise efficiency and in the long run strengthen financial inclusion. At the same time, VCs could be potential vehicles for money laundering, terrorist financing, tax evasion and fraud. While risks to the conduct of monetary policy seem less likely to arise at this stage given the very small scale of VCs, risks to financial stability may eventually emerge as the new technologies become more widely used. National authorities have begun to address these challenges and will need to calibrate regulation in a manner that appropriately addresses the risks without stifling innovation. As experience is gained, international standards and best practices could be considered to provide guidance on the most appropriate regulatory responses in different fields, thereby promoting harmonization and cooperation across jurisdictions.

Following the companion paper on the new policy challenges related to the adoption of digital forms of money, this paper presents an operational strategy for the IMF to continue delivering on its mandate of ensuring domestic and international financial and economic stability. The paper begins by summarizing the forces driving the adoption of digital forms of money, and the new policy questions that emerge. It then focusses on how the IMF’s core activities and output will need to evolve, including surveillance, capacity development, and analytical foundations. It ends by discusses how the IMF intends to partner with other organization, and to grow and structure internal resources to fulfill this vision.