Some economists believe that the competitive survival of noninterest-bearing currency--the absence of price competition from markets for stored-value cards, banknotes, and token coins--implies a waste of resources on nonprice competition. The authors argue to the contrary that market forces...

The legal restrictions theory of money, developed by Neil Wallace and others, implies that all noncommodity currency would be interest bear ing under laissez faire (if the interest rate on bonds is positive). This note cites historical evidence to the contrary. It then analyzes the source of the...