History of Money and Monetary Arrangements: Insights from the Baltic and North Seas Region

This new volume examines monetary separation and the history of monetary arrangements in the North and Baltic Seas region, from the Hanseatic League onwards. This analysis is done with a view to assessing evolution of monetary arrangements from a new monetary economics perspective.

Format: Hardback
Length: 204 pages
Publication date: 30 August 2018
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

The majority of money in circulation today is credit money, originating from commercial banks. While credit plays a vital role in fostering innovation, excessive credit accumulation can result in boom-and-bust cycles, as witnessed in recent financial crises. This underscores the critical importance of the organization of our monetary system in ensuring stability. One approach to achieving this is by separating the unit of account from the medium of exchange, as was the case in pre-modern Europe. This new volume delves into the concept of monetary separation and explores the historical monetary arrangements in the North and Baltic Seas region, starting from the Hanseatic League onwards.

This book offers a theoretical analysis of four historical cases in the Baltic and North Seas region, with the aim of examining the evolution of monetary arrangements from a new monetary economics perspective. Since the objective exchange value of money (its purchasing power) reflects subjective individual valuations of commodities, the author assesses these historical cases by analyzing exchange rates. By employing theories from new monetary economics, the book explores how the units of account and their media of exchange evolved as social conventions, providing fresh insights into the separation between the two. Through this exploration, the book posits that money is a social institution, serving as a clearing device for settling accounts. Consequently, the value of money, or a separate unit of account, ultimately stems from the size and interconnectedness of its user network.

The History of Money and Monetary Arrangements presents a groundbreaking and highly original perspective on monetary arrangements as an evolutionary process. It will captivate a wide international audience, including scholars and students with interests in economic history, evolutionary economics, and new monetary economics.

Weight: 470g
Dimension: 163 x 240 x 19 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780415820486