Bimetallism: Econ & Hist Analysis: An Economic and Historical Analysis (Studies in Macroeconomic History)
Cambridge University Press, 1/12/2008
EAN 9780521028936, ISBN10: 0521028930
Paperback, 292 pages, 22.9 x 15.2 x 1.9 cm
Language: English
Originally published in English
This book, first published in 2000, presents a history of Western monetary systems and explains why bimetallism was preferred to a gold standard before 1800. Professor Redish argues that the technological ability to issue fiduciary monies, and a commitment mechanism to prevent opportunistic governments changing the ratio between the currency and a unit of gold, were (frequently overlooked) prerequisites for the emergence of the Classical gold standard. The simplicity of the gold standard, a monetary system where there is a fixed ratio between a weight of gold and a unit of currency, makes it an obvious focus for discussion of commodity money systems, and for contrasting with today's fiat money regimes.
Acknowledgements
1. From the Carolingian penny to the Classical gold standard
2. The mechanics of commodity money
3. Bimetallism before the nineteenth century
4. The issue of small-denomination coins
5. Token coinage and the gold standard in the United Kingdom
6. Transition to the gold standard in France
7. Bimetallism in the United States
8. Conclusions
References
Index.