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Anchors Aweigh: The Transition from Commodity Money to Fiat Money in Western Economies

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  • Angela Redish

Abstract

In this paper, the author argues that the transition from commodity money to fiat money in the 1970s was a less dramatic change than suggested by a first glance at monetary history or monetary theory. She shows that, historically, the quantity of the commodity-based money was at the discretion of the monetary authority and how, over time, the desire to economize on the commodity backing led to national and international institutions that reduced the extent to which money issues under the commodity standard represented an explicit claim to an intrinsically valuable asset.

Suggested Citation

  • Angela Redish, 1993. "Anchors Aweigh: The Transition from Commodity Money to Fiat Money in Western Economies," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 26(4), pages 777-795, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:cje:issued:v:26:y:1993:i:4:p:777-95
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Costabile, Lilia, 2022. "Commodity money, natural values, and central banking in Ricardo," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 104-111.
    2. Patrick K O'Brien & Nuno Palma, 2020. "Danger to the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street? The Bank Restriction Act and the regime shift to paper money, 1797–1821," European Review of Economic History, Oxford University Press, vol. 24(2), pages 390-426.
    3. Charles Calomiris & David Wheelock, 1998. "Was the Great Depression a Watershed for American Monetary Policy?," NBER Chapters, in: The Defining Moment: The Great Depression and the American Economy in the Twentieth Century, pages 23-65, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Michael D. Bordo & Marc Flandreau, 2003. "Core, Periphery, Exchange Rate Regimes, and Globalization," NBER Chapters, in: Globalization in Historical Perspective, pages 417-472, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Patrick K. O’Brien & Nuno Palma, 2019. "Danger To The Old Lady Of Threadneedle Street? The Bank Restriction Act And The Regime Shift To Paper Money, 1797-18211," Working Papers 0082, Utrecht University, Centre for Global Economic History.
    6. Patrick K. O'Brien & Nuno Palma, 2023. "Not an ordinary bank but a great engine of state: The Bank of England and the British economy, 1694–1844," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 76(1), pages 305-329, February.
    7. Michael D. Bordo & William Roberds, 2022. "Central Bank Digital Currencies: An Old Tale with a New Chapter," FRB Atlanta Working Paper 2022-18, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
    8. Luis Angeles, 2020. "Four Phases in the History of Money," Working Papers 2020_24, Business School - Economics, University of Glasgow.
    9. Laidler, David, 2017. "Economic ideas, the monetary order and the uneasy case for policy rules," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 54(PA), pages 12-23.
    10. David Laidler, 2016. "Economic Ideas, the Monetary Order and the Uneasy Case for Policy Rules," University of Western Ontario, Departmental Research Report Series 20164, University of Western Ontario, Department of Economics.
    11. Farley Grubb, 2017. "The Paper Money of Colonial North Carolina, 1712-1774," Working Papers 17-01, University of Delaware, Department of Economics.
    12. Braun, Benjamin, 2016. "Speaking to the people? Money, trust, and central bank legitimacy in the age of quantitative easing," MPIfG Discussion Paper 16/12, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    13. Bordo, Michael D. & Jonung, Lars, 1994. "Monetary Regimes, Inflation and Monetary Reform: An Essay in Honor of Axel Leijonhufvud," SSE/EFI Working Paper Series in Economics and Finance 16, Stockholm School of Economics.
    14. Bo Chen & Dan Li & Yiqing Xie, 2022. "Silver, fiduciary money, and the Chinese economy, 1890–1935," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 939-970, September.
    15. George Selgin, 2003. "Adaptive Learning and the Transition to Fiat Money," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 113(484), pages 147-165, January.
    16. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/622 is not listed on IDEAS

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