How Amsterdam got fiat money

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Quinn, Stephen; Roberds, William
• 署名单位: Texas Christian University; Federal Reserve System - USA; Federal Reserve Bank - Atlanta
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF MONETARY ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-3932
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jmoneco.2014.03.004
• 发表日期: 2014
• 页码: 1-12
• 关键词: Bank of Amsterdam; Fiat money; Commodity money; monetary policy; credit policy

摘要

A fiat money system was introduced in the seventeenth century by a prominent public bank of the time, the Bank of Amsterdam. Employing data from the bank's archives, we show that bank money became a more attractive transactions medium following a 1683 policy change, which unbundled the bank's account balances from a right to redeem these balances in coin. Balances not matched by a redemption right became fiat. This change also stabilized the value of bank money as a unit of account, freed the bank from defensive open market operations, and promoted seigniorage collection. Published by Elsevier B.V.