Bücher von William D. Gerdes

In an increasingly interdependent global economy, an understanding of foreign exchange markets is more critical than ever. These markets are inextricably entwined with underlying monetary standards and consequently they are treated conjointly in this book. Four different foreign exchange rate regimes are analyzed including exchange rates under commodity money, fiduciary money, fiat money (with fixed exchange rates), and fiat money (with flexible exchange rates). For more than eight decades, most ountries have operated with fiat money. Proponents maintain that fiat money provides individual countries with much greater monetary autonomy. Yet both analytics and experience indicate that this is not always the case. Whether a country has more monetary autonomy depends on whether fiat money is paired with fixed or flexible exchange rates. Although flexible exchange rate regimes are not without their critics, it has become increasingly apparent that fiat money with flexible rates provides individual countries much greater monetary autonomy. This arrangement allows participants in foreign exchange markets greater latitude for adjusting to the wide variations in national monetary policies that are prevalent with fiat money. Several audiences may find this book beneficial: undergraduate students in economics and finance, students of inter-national business, graduate students, students in executive programs who need to expand their knowledge of international finance, and practicing executives and managers- especially those who are employed by companies operating globally.

The premise of the book is that the study of money should commence at the most general level. Consequently, the book is anchored in the context of monetary systems (commodity, fiduciary, and fiat monies).The intent is to give the student of money a very broad perspective. It allows the reader to understand, for example, how the money we use today differs from money used in the past, or how our current money relates to money discovered by anthropologists in isolated subcultures. Money is a market phenomenon. It originated as a spontaneous social institution, and its use is still inextricably tied to market exchange. Therefore, the analysis of money occurs in a market setting. Use of monetary systems and a market setting as the underlying parameters ideally positions the reader to examine money in its various uses: as foreign exchange, in credit markets, and as an instrument of monetary policy. The material in the book is suited for upper-division college students and business professionals with an interest in reaching an understanding of money.