Monetary Plurality in Local, Regional and Global Economies

315 Pages·2019·18.964 MB·English

by  Georgina Gómez

Financial History
MONETARY PLURALITY IN
LOCAL, REGIONAL AND
GLOBAL ECONOMIES
Edited by
Georgina M. Gómez
Monetary Plurality in Local, Regional
and Global Economies
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 dis-
tress during financial and economic crisis, so reforms to increase the responsive-
ness 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 eco-
nomic sustainability. At the same time, it introduces new risks in terms of
economic governance, so it needs to be properly understood. The book analy-
ses 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.
Georgina M. Gómez is Associate Professor in Institutions and Local Development
at the International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam, the
Netherlands.
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Monetary Plurality in Local, Regional and Global Economies
Edited by Georgina M. Gómez
For more information about this series, please visit www.routledge.com/series/
FINHIS
Monetary Plurality in
Local, Regional and Global
Economies
Edited by Georgina M. Gómez
First published 2019
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
 2019 selection and editorial matter, Georgina M. Gómez; individual
chapters, the contributors
The right of Georgina M. Gómez to be identified as the author of the
editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been
asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Gomez, Georgina, editor.
Title: Monetary plurality in local, regional and global economies /
[edited by] Georgina M. Gomez.
Description: 1 Edition. | New York : Taylor and Francis, 2018.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018009213 | ISBN 9781138280281 (hardback)
Subjects: LCSH: Money. | Foreign exchange. | Banks and banking. |
Sustainable development. | Monetary policy.
Classification: LCC HG221 .M81414 2018 | DDC 332.4/6—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018009213
ISBN: 978-1-138-28028-1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-27223-8 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Swales & Willis, Exeter, Devon, UK
To the memory of my father

Contents
List of figures xi
List of tables xiv
List of contributors xvi
Acknowledgements xx
1 The monetary system as an evolutionary construct 1
GEORGINA M. GÓMEZ
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 Perspectives on the ontology of money 3
1.3 Modern money and monetary singularity 9
1.4 Contributions in this volume 12
2 Monetary plurality in economic theory 18
JÉRÔME BLANC, LUDOVIC DESMEDT, LAURENT LE MAUX,
JAIME MARQUES-PEREIRA, PEPITA OULD-AHMED AND BRUNO THÉRET
2.1 Introduction 18
2.2 The New Monetary Economics: from a plurality of
means of payment to a plurality of units of account 20
2.3 Neo-Mengerian approaches to money: between
plurality and singularity of the unit of account 25
2.4 Integrating money into the general equilibrium theory 29
2.5 Chartalist, Keynesian and Marxist approaches to money 34
2.6. Conclusion: a typology of combinations of
monetary singularity and plurality 41
3 Making sense of the plurality of money: a Polanyian attempt 48
JÉRÔME BLANC
3.1 Introduction 48
3.2 Outline of a typology of money 50
viii Contents
3.3 Forms of integration and money 55
3.4 Deepening the ideal types: sub-types and hybrids 59
3.5 Conclusion 63
4 How does monetary plurality work at the local level?
The division of labour among currencies in Argentina
(1998–2005) 67
GEORGINA M. GÓMEZ
4.1 Introduction 67
4.2 Dealing with monetary plurality 69
4.3 Inflation and bimonetarism in Argentina 71
4.4 Structural adjustment and non-state monetary
circuits 73
4.5 Subnational state currency circuits in Argentina 75
4.6 Matching money and transactions 77
4.7 Conclusion 80
5 Monetary federalism as a concept and its empirical
underpinnings in Argentina’s monetary history 84
BRUNO THÉRET
5.1 Introduction 84
5.2 Principles and historicity of monetary
federalism 86
5.3 The four waves of issuance of provincial CCs in
Argentina since 1890 93
5.4 Why such a historical recurrence? Argentinian fiscal
federalism and shortages of currency and credit at the
provincial level 102
5.5 Conclusion 108
6 Famine of cash: why have local monies remained
popular throughout human history? 114
AKINOBU KURODA
6.1 ‘Free banking system’ without banks 114
6.2 Currencies stagnate rather than circulate 115
6.3 Invisible agreements on local currencies 117
6.4 Credits substitute currencies locally 118
6.5 Commercial oligarchies monopolising
currencies 120
6.6 Bond between money and society 120
Contents ix
7 The pervasiveness of monetary plurality in economic
crisis and wars 123
GEORGINA M. GÓMEZ AND WILKO VON PRITTWITZ UND GAFFRON
7.1 Currencies found and currencies made? 123
7.2 Historical emergencies and money 124
7.3 Emergency currencies and the World Wars 128
7.4 A step further: depreciating currencies in Europe
during the Depression 134
7.5 Stamp scrip in the USA during the Depression 140
7.6 Municipal emergency currencies in the Spanish Civil War 142
7.7 Conclusions 149
8 Birth, life and death of a provincial complementary
currency from Tucuman, Argentina (1985–2003) 153
BRUNO THÉRET
8.1 Introduction 153
8.2 Rebuilding the history of a long-lasting complementary
fiscal currency 154
8.3 How did the Bocade face the volatility of monetary
policy and scarcity of legal tender? 161
8.4 Was the Bocade actually useful and successful? 174
8.5 Conclusions 184
9 Community currency and sustainable development in hilly
and mountainous areas: a case study of forest
volunteer activities in Japan 188
YOSHIHISA MIYAZAKI AND KEN-ICHI KURITA
9.1 Introduction 188
9.2 Circumstance and issues of the hilly and mountainous
areas of Japan 189
9.3 The forest volunteer activities of Tosa-no-Mori Kyūentai 191
9.4 Perceptions and behaviour of the participants in
Kyūentai activities 195
9.5 Concluding remarks 199
10 Sustainable territorial development and monetary subsidiarity 202
MARIE FARE
10.1 Introduction 202
10.2 CCs’ potential with respect to the challenges of
transition to sustainability in contemporary societies 203