This book deals with the economic consequences of monetary integration, which has long been dominated by the Optimal Currency Area (OCA) paradigm. In this model, money is perceived as having developed from a private sector cost minimization process to facilitate transactions. Not surprisingly,...

General introduction -- General introduction -- One: Currency Competition -- I. The theory of currency competition -- II. The history of currency competition -- III. The history of monetary thought on currency competition -- IV. The current debate: The return to gold and the liberalization of...