The idea that each country should have
one currency is so deeply rooted in people’s minds that the possibility
of multiple and concurrent currencies seems unthinkable. Monetary
systems contribute to problems of high unemployment and social distress
during financial and economic crisis, so reforms to increase the
responsiveness and flexibility of the monetary system can be part of the
solution.
This book discusses ‘monetary plurality’, which is the circulation of
several currencies at the same time and space. It addresses how
multiple currency circuits work together and transform socio-economic
systems, particularly by supporting economies at the local level of
regions and cities. The book shows that monetary plurality has been
ubiquitous throughout history and persists at present because the
existence of several currency circuits facilitates small-scale
production and trade in a way that no single currency can accomplish on
its own.
Monetary plurality can improve resilience, access to livelihoods and economic sustainability. At the same time, it introduces new risks in terms of economic governance, so it needs to be properly understood. The book analyses experiences of monetary plurality in Europe, Japan, and North and South America, written by researchers from East and West and from the global North and South. Replete with case studies, this book will prove a valuable addition to any student or practitioner’s bookshelf.
Content:
1. The monetary system as an evolutionary construct – Georgina M. Gómez;
2. Monetary Plurality in Economic Theory – Jérôme Blanc, Ludovic Desmedt, Laurent Le Maux, Jaime Marques-Pereira, Pepita Ould-Ahmed and Bruno Théret;
3. Making sense of the plurality of money: a Polanyian attempt – Jérôme Blanc;
4. How does monetary plurality work at the household level? The division of labour among currencies in Argentina (1998-2005) – Georgina M. Gómez;
5. Monetary federalism as A concept and its Empirical underpinnings in Argentina’s monetary history – Bruno Théret;
6. Famine of Cash: Why Have Local Monies Remained Popular throughout Human History? Akinobu Kuroda;
7. The pervasiveness of monetary plurality in economic crisis and wars – Georgina M. Gómez and Wilko von Prittwitz und Gaffron;
8. Birth, Life and Death of a Provincial Complementary Currency from Tucuman, Argentina (1985 – 2003) – Bruno Théret;
9. Community Currency and Sustainable Development in Hilly and Mountainous Areas: A Case Study of Forest Volunteer Activities in Japan – Yoshihisa Miyazaki and Ken-ichi Kurita;
10. Sustainable Territorial Development and Monetary Subsidiarity – Marie Fare;
11. Relationship between people’s money consciousness and circulation of community currency – Shigeto Kobayashi, Takashi Hashimoto, Ken-ichi Kurita and Makoto Nishibe;
12. Gaming Simulation using Electronic Community Currencies: Behavioural Analysis of Self-versus-Community Consciousness – Masahiro Mikami and Makoto Nishibe;
13. For the policy maker: when and how is monetary plurality an option – Georgina M. Gómez.
For more information and to order this book directly from the publisher see
https://www.routledge.com/Monetary-Plurality-in-Local-Regional-and-Global-Economies/Gomez/p/book/9781138280281