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Digital Cash: Principles & Practical Steps

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  • Michael D. Bordo
  • Andrew T. Levin

Abstract

If the global economy encounters another severe adverse shock in coming years, will major central banks be able to provide sufficient monetary stimulus to preserve price stability and foster economic recovery? Our empirical analysis indicates that the Federal Reserve’s QE3 program was not an effective form of monetary stimulus and that unconventional monetary policies undertaken in the Eurozone and in Japan have been similarly limited in impact. We then consider how digital cash could bolster the effectiveness of monetary policy, and we characterize some potential steps for implementing digital cash via public-private partnerships between the central bank and supervised financial institutions. Our analysis indicates that digital cash could significantly enhance the stability of the financial system.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael D. Bordo & Andrew T. Levin, 2019. "Digital Cash: Principles & Practical Steps," NBER Working Papers 25455, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:25455
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    Cited by:

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    2. Carlos Viñuela & Juan Sapena & Gonzalo Wandosell, 2020. "The Future of Money and the Central Bank Digital Currency Dilemma," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-22, November.
    3. Sebastian Infante & Kyungmin Kim & Anna Orlik & André F. Silva & Robert J. Tetlow, 2022. "The Macroeconomic Implications of CBDC: A Review of the Literature," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2022-076, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    4. Eswar Prasad, 2020. "New and evolving financial technologies implications for monetary policy and financial stability in Latin America," Documentos de trabajo 19463, FLAR.
    5. John B. Taylor, 2021. "Simple monetary rules: many strengths and few weaknesses," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 52(2), pages 267-283, December.
    6. Aiste Juskaite & Sigitas Siaudinis & Tomas Reichenbachas, 2019. "CBDC – in a whirlpool of discussion," Bank of Lithuania Occasional Paper Series 29, Bank of Lithuania.
    7. Carl E. Walsh, 2019. "Alternatives to Inflation Targeting in Low Interest Rate Environments," IMES Discussion Paper Series 19-E-13, Institute for Monetary and Economic Studies, Bank of Japan.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E42 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Monetary Sytsems; Standards; Regimes; Government and the Monetary System
    • E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy
    • E58 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Central Banks and Their Policies

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