Monetary Orders: Ambiguous Economics, Ubiquitous Politics (Cornell Studies in Political Economy)

Monetary Orders: Ambiguous Economics, Ubiquitous Politics (Cornell Studies in Political Economy)

by JonathanKirshner (Editor)

Synopsis

Wherever there is money, there is money politics-a subject demanding ever greater attention at a time when monetary policies lead and the real economy follows. A principal defining characteristic of the contemporary global economy, Jonathan Kirshner contends, is the rise and preeminence of monetary phenomena-international financial crises, Central Bank Independence and inflation fighting, the creation of the euro, and monetary reform in emerging economies, to name only a few. Moreover, unlike most debates in political economy (such as those regarding trade policy), which are generally recognized as political, monetary phenomena and macroeconomic policies are typically represented as expressly apolitical. In Monetary Orders, a distinguished group of scholars explores the inescapable political origins of choices about money. The essays in Monetary Orders each address a specific issue or puzzle relating to money and its management. Their authors focus on markedly disparate cases but share a common observation: for most policy choices about money, market forces and economic logic can rule out certain options, but are indeterminate in explaining why one policy rather than another will be chosen. Ultimately, political factors are essential to explain fundamental and consequential choices about money.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 336
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Published: 23 Dec 2002

ISBN 10: 0801488400
ISBN 13: 9780801488405

Media Reviews

In this subtle and refreshing book, Jonathan Kirshner and his group remind us that so often, the economics behind monetary policy are consistent with more than one policy. Politics too, not just economics and markets, accounts for the recent worldwide drive for extremely slow inflation, central bank independence, and removal of all international capital controls. The book presents a strong case, and it implies that leaders in every region should reevaluate these policies and who gains and who loses from them.

-- John S. Odell, University of Southern California

Monetary Orders is a must read for anyone interested in the political economy of global money and finance.... In substantive terms it is cutting edge, providing a valuable guide to the the thinking of the latest generation of specialists in the field.

-- Benjamin J. Cohen, University of California at Santa Barbara * Perspectives on Politics *

Monetary Orders makes a major contribution to our knowledge about a number of important aspects of the political economy of monetary relations.

-- Thomas D. Willett, Horton Professor of Economics, The Claremont Colleges
Author Bio
Jonathan Kirshner is Stephen and Barbara Friedman Professor of International Political Economy at Cornell University. He is the author most recently of Hollywood's Last Golden Age and the coeditor of The Great Wall of Money and The Future of the Dollar, all from Cornell.