Article history: Received 14 August 2008 Accepted 20 January 2009 Available online 7 February 2009 JEL classification: E42 E52 E63

We conduct an incentivized experiment to test whether the willingness to pay is higher for debit cards compared to cash for three consumer products. Our findings support this conjecture also after controlling for cash availability, spending type, price familiarity and consumption habits of the products. The evidence thus suggests that different representations of money matters for consumer beha...

This paper contributes to the micro-foundation of money in centralized markets with idiosyncratic uncertainty. It shows existence of stationary monetary equilibria and ensures that there is an optimum quantity of money. The rational solution of our model is compared with actual behavior in a laboratory experiment. The experiment gives support to the theoretical approach. JEL classification: C73...

Simple state-independent monetary institutions are shown to secure optimal cooperative policies in a stochastic, linear-quadratic two-country world with international policy spill-overs and national credibility problems. Institutions characterize delegation to independent central bankers facing quadratic performance related contracts punishing or rewarding deviations from primary and intermedia...

Designed to compete with fiat currencies, bitcoin proposes it is a crypto-currency alternative. Bitcoin makes a number of false claims, including: bitcoin can be a reserve currency for banking; hoarding equals saving; and that we should believe bitcoin can expand by deflation to become a global transactional currency supply. Bitcoin’s developers combine technical implementation proficiency with...

I develop an asset-pricing model in which financial assets are valued for their liquidity– the extent to which they are useful in facilitating exchange–as well as for being claims to streams of consumption goods. The implications for average asset returns, the equitypremium puzzle, and the risk-free rate puzzle, are explored both analytically and quantitatively in a version of the model that ne...

This paper surveys the institutional and operational features of the six modern currency boards. The survey is developed around three key aspects: organisation, operations and legal foundation. By laying out the facts, this survey seeks to shed light on how and why modern currency boards in practice are different from the classic definition, and to distil from their features an updated definiti...

Previous work in monetary policy futures markets under a single policy goal have shown this approach to be effective at eliminating the circularity problem inherent with private-sector targeting strategies. We extend this monetary policy setting framework to a typical multiple goal policy objective: inflation and output stabilization. We also demonstrate how the prices in policy futures markets...

This article discusses the impact of dollarization in Ecuador, Panama and El Salvador as well Argentine convertibility system. We found that adoption a more stable currency has had positive results those countries.
 Key words: Dollarization, Inflation, Central Bank, Balance Trade, Gold Standard, Cash Ratio, Exports, Flexible Exchange Rates.
 JEL Classification: E42, E44, E58.
 Re...

The essay starts positioning Simmel as a bridge between the money value theories of Menger and Mises, claiming that his contribution is important in its own right; notably, idea evolves towards more abstract forms society becomes complex. It states this trend exists course has not yet been completed. After that, Menger, Mises are succinctly described, with emphasis on contributions to Mises’ th...