Abstract
This chapter asks why money and central banks exist. Its author makes a plea for a historical approach to monetary economics. Students need to understand the evolution of money and banking so they understand why our modern monetary systems are designed the way they are. The chapter concludes that money and central banking is not a purely technocratic issue; from their inception, sovereigns have been involved. Only through economic history can scholars understand the political economy of our mediums of exchange.
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Notes
- 1.
Although the Sveriges Riksbank can trace its origins back to 1668, it was not permitted to issue notes until the eighteenth century.
- 2.
To understand the evolution of the international monetary system, economists should consult Eichengreen (2008).
- 3.
Reinhart and Rogoff (2009) provide a helpful list of such crises as a useful starting point.
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Turner, J.D. (2018). Money and Central Banking. In: Blum, M., Colvin, C. (eds) An Economist’s Guide to Economic History. Palgrave Studies in Economic History. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96568-0_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96568-0_8
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