Students of U.S. banking history typically hold that the check collection industry was excessively costly prior to 1915 and that the Fed's subsequent entry into check clearing improved efficiency. The authors propose an alternative view based on the economics of network communications...

Cash use in most countries is falling slowly. On the margin, younger adults favor cash substitutes over cash. For older adults it is the reverse. Revealed preference tied to a changing population age structure seems to be the main influence on the demand for cash and why it is falling. Cash use...