Democracy and money : lessons for today from Athens in classical times / George C. Bitros, Emmanouil M. L. Economou and Nicholas C. Kyriazis.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bitros, George, author.

Economou, Emmanouil Marios N., author.

Kyriazis, Nicholas C., author.

Series:

Routledge international studies in money and banking

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

History, Economics.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (321 pages) : illustrations

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2020.

Summary:

"The authors of this book argue that post-war fiscal and monetary policies in the U.S. are prone to more frequent and more destabilizing domestic and international financial crises. So, in the aftermath of the one that erupted in 2008, they propose that now we are sleepwalking into another, which under the prevailing institutional circumstances could develop into a worldwide financial Armageddon. Thinking ahead of such a calamity, this book presents for the first time a model of democratic governance with privately produced money based on the case of Athens in Classical times, and explains why, if it is conceived as a benchmark for reference and adaptation, it may provide an effective way out from the dreadful predicament that state managed fiat money holds for the stability of Western-type democracies and the international financial system. As the U.S. today, Athens at that time reached the apex of its military, economic, political, cultural, and scientific influence in the world. But Athens triumphed through different approaches to democracy and fundamentally different fiscal and monetary policies than the U.S. Thus the readers will have the opportunity to learn about these differences and appreciate the potential they offer for confronting the challenges contemporary democracies face under the leadership of the U.S. The book will find audiences among academics, university students, and researchers across a wide range of fields and subfields, as well as legislators, fiscal and monetary policy makers, and economic and financial consultants"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Cover

Half Title

Series Page

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Table of Contents

List of Exhibits

List of Figures

List of Tables

Preface

1 Introduction

1.1 Deficits and debts in contemporary democracies

1.2 Complacency and acquiescence of the central banks

1.3 Conclusion

2 Money-related Institutions in Classical Athens

2.1 Public governance and Archai in charge of the currency

2.1.1 Making the best of the Laurion mines

2.1.1.1 The board of poletai (sellers)

2.1.1.2 Mining-related tasks of Boule

2.1.2 Minting of coins and maintaining their integrity

2.1.2.1 The Athenian mint

2.1.2.2 Dokimastai (testers)

2.2 Financial intermediation in the private sector

2.2.1 Trapezai (banks)

2.2.2 Argyramoiboi or Kollybistai (moneychangers)

2.2.3 Enechirodaneistai (pawnbrokers)

2.3 Summary

3 The System and the Tenets of Public Finance

3.1 A brief overview of the fiscal administration

3.1.1 Setup of the state's financial services

3.1.2 Sources and uses of public funds

3.1.2.1 Public revenues

3.1.2.2 Public expenditures

3.1.3 Democratic control of financial magistrates

3.2 Balancing the budget through war and peace

3.3 Public budget and lenders of last resort

3.4 Summary

4 Main Currency-related Policies

4.1 Economics of minting in classical times

4.1.1 Taxing through reminting

4.2 Regulatory framework of coinage

4.2.1 Coinage Decree (449 BCE)

4.2.2 The Decree of Kallias (434/433 BCE)

4.2.3 Law of Nicophon (375/374 BCE)

4.2.4 Currency issues in ancient Greek Federations

4.3 Summary

5 Structure and Evolution of the Economy

5.1 The state sector

5.1.1 Governance

5.1.1.1 Civil service

5.1.1.2 Defense and power posture

5.1.1.3 Courts and law enforcement

5.1.1.4 Financial, regulatory and other services.

5.1.2 Infrastructural and cultural facilities

5.1.2.1 Fortifications

5.1.2.2 Civil infrastructures

5.1.2.3 Cultural infrastructures

5.1.3 Social welfare

5.2 The private sector

5.2.1 Household production for own use and sale

5.2.2 Trade-oriented production of goods and services

5.2.2.1 Mining

5.2.2.2 Handicraft and manufacturing

5.2.2.3 Shipping

5.2.2.4 Money and banking

5.2.2.5 Construction

5.2.2.6 Paideia

5.2.2.7 Health care

5.2.2.8 Other public services

5.2.3 Distribution of goods and services

5.2.4 Export-import trade

5.3 Summary

6 Money in an Economy without a Central Bank

6.1 Demand and supply of currency and bullion

6.2 Demand and supply of primary deposits

6.3 Demand and supply of bank credit

6.4 Equilibrium in the money market

6.5 Summary

7 An Assessment of Comparative Performance

7.1 Price stability

7.1.1 Inflation in part and in general

7.1.1.1 Evidence regarding inflation

7.1.1.2 The case of general inflation

7.1.2 Relative prices and economic flexibility

7.2 Unemployment

7.3 Economic growth

7.4 The interest rate

7.4.1 Real interest rates in the United States and ancient Athens

7.4.1.1 The interest rate in the United States in the postwar period

7.4.1.2 The interest rate in ancient Athens

7.4.1.3 Comparative assessment

7.4.2 Public goods and the rate of interest

7.5 The two currencies from an international perspective

7.5.1 The U.S. dollar in the postwar period

7.5.1.1 From fixed exchange rates to freely floating fiat currencies

7.5.1.2 Foreign trade policies

7.5.2 The drachma in classical times

7.5.2.1 State commitment to no debasement

7.5.2.2 Safeguarding the integrity of the drachma through democratically controlled institutions

7.5.2.3 Market determined exchange rates.

7.5.2.4 Foreign trade policies

7.6 Summary

8 Alternatives to Common Central Banking

8.1 Central bank as the fourth power of the state

8.2 Currency and credit based on free banking

8.2.1 An adaptation of the White-Selgin (WS) model of Scottish free banking

8.3 Attic drachma: private currency with state standards

8.4 On the evolving prospects of electronic money

8.5 Clues for money from classical Athens

8.5.1 Central bank with nonconvertible paper currency

8.5.2 Free banking with commodity-based currencies: the Athenian vs. the Scottish model

8.5.3 Free banking with digital currencies

8.6 Concluding assessments

8.7 Appendix: on the inversion of Gresham's law in classical Athens

8.7.1 Aristophanes' circumstantial evidence

8.7.2 In classical Athens good money drove out bad money

9 Why Back and How to Direct Democracy

9.1 Core weaknesses of contemporary democracy

9.1.1 The self-interest of politicians

9.1.2 Bureaucracy

9.1.3 Uncoordinated administrative polycentrism

9.1.4 Rent-seeking

9.1.5 Regulatory and state capture

9.1.5.1 Banking industry regulation and banks too-big-to-fail

9.1.5.2 Concentration of capital ownership and inequality

9.2 Sources of inherent weaknesses in contemporary democracy

9.2.1 Impossibility of representation in groups

9.2.2 Asymmetry of information

9.2.3 The deleterious role of political parties

9.2.4 Deficit spending

9.3 The superior advantages of direct democracy

9.3.1 No representation, no political parties, no voter alienation

9.3.2 Procedural counterbalancing of informational asymmetries

9.3.3 Election, accountability and personal responsibility of all officials

9.3.4 Resiliency through multiple checks and balances

9.4 The long march back to citizen sovereignty

9.4.1 Gradualist pathways to substantive democracy.

9.4.2 Radical return to direct democracy

9.5 Summary and concluding remarks

References

Ancient Greek authors

More recent literature

Contemporary literature in Greek

Glossary of Greek Terms

Index.

Notes:

Includes index.

Includes bibliographical references.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-00-305180-4

1-000-09712-9

1-003-05180-4

1-000-09706-4

9781003051800

OCLC:

1143842675