The Currency of Politics: The Political Theory of Money from Aristotle to Keynes

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The moment when you start to wonder what money is feels like pitching through a trapdoor into the void. This book is a marvelous aid to stabilizing that awful sense of cognitive vertigo. By examining several periods in the history of money, and showing how it has been used in each period to constitute power and the state, Eich brings us to the present with a much clearer sense of where we are, how we got here, and how we might seize money itself and use it as a creative political force for good.”—Kim Stanley Robinson, author of Ministry for the Future This excellent book is for anyone who has ever wondered about the origins of the Eurozone, the causes of the currency crises, and the importance of the classical gold standard. Frieden combines lively historical narratives with statistical analyses to show that currency politics are pretty much the same across time and space. No other author could bring out the common threads running through the book's cases so clearly." —J. Lawrence Broz, University of San Diego Agustín Carstens, the head of Mexico's central bank (Banxico) from 2010 to 2017, was charged with maintaining the stability and purchasing power of the peso. Carstens faced enormous challenges in his role as the head of Mexican monetary policy, not only because of domestic economic and political forces, but also because of elections in the country's northern neighbor. Carstens vividly described the impact of the US election on his ability to exercise domestic monetary policy: expressing frustration over his loss of power over the peso, he called President Trump's election, and the concomitant economic threats against Mexico, a “horror movie” and a “hurricane.” 1 He also said that Trump was able to completely disrupt his plans to stabilize the currency—which cost more than 2 billion dollars in hard reserves—with only two tweets, both focusing on investment by the auto industry in Mexico. 2 Carstens’ direct style of speaking further reveals his awareness of the effects: in comments to the Mexican Senate, he explained that “I'm going to say it like it is, in a very simple way: with two tweets from we know who, the effect faded away,” referring to the impact of his currency interventions relative to the influence of Trump's tweets. 3

Jeffry A. Frieden, Professor of Government at Harvard University, has written a fine book on the determinants of decision-making regarding exchange-rate regime and, to some extent, exchange-rate level within the selected regime. The book is readable for both economists and political scientists. I recommend Currency Politics to both sets of scholars. Economists will learn about the political aspects of exchange-regime choice and political scientists about the economic aspects." -- Lawrence Officer, EH.net. Alexander Slaski, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral fellow at Leiden University. His research focuses on the political economy of foreign direct investment, investment incentives, and currency flows in the developing world, particularly Latin America. His current book project examines how multinational firms shape regulatory policy in developing economies. His work has been published or is forthcoming in outlets including The Review of International Organizations, The Review of International Political Economy, and International Studies Quarterly. Notes

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In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, critical attention has shifted from the economy to the most fundamental feature of all market economies—money. Yet despite the centrality of political struggles over money, it remains difficult to articulate its democratic possibilities and limits. The Currency of Politics takes readers from ancient Greece to today to provide an intellectual history of money, drawing on the insights of key political philosophers to show how money is not just a medium of exchange but also a central institution of political rule. With this framework in place, a set of case studies is used to test the relevance of political economy to currency policy at various stages in history: namely, the United States during the transition to the gold standard (1862-96); European monetary integration between 1973-94; and Latin American policy between 1970-2010. The individual elements of Frieden’s theories are tested empirically to understand how important the political economy of currency policy is to explain voting patterns and government policy choices. Este artículo examina los efectos de los impactos electorales extranjeros en los mercados de divisas. Presenta una teoría de la señalización y la incertidumbre para explicar por qué las elecciones en países con vínculos económicos estrechos deberían afectar las tasas de cambio. Metodológicamente, este artículo se centra en varios estudios de caso, con las elecciones de 2016 en Estados Unidos como caso central: se utiliza un marco de análisis de eventos para medir el impacto de las elecciones en el peso mexicano mediante la explotación de la exogeneidad plausible de los tuits de Donald Trump. También se miden los cambios en el peso utilizando la probabilidad prevista de que Trump gane las elecciones para demostrar que el peso es más débil cuando dicho candidato tiene la mayor probabilidad de ganar las elecciones. Además, se incluye una serie de análisis y comprobaciones de solidez de otros casos recientes notables en los que la incertidumbre electoral afectó las monedas de otros países, incluida la elección brasileña de 2018. Los resultados cuantifican el efecto de las elecciones extranjeras sobre los tipos de cambio, con base en la bibliografía existente que se centra en cómo las elecciones nacionales dan forma a los mercados de divisas. A modo de conclusión, se incluye un debate de la validez externa del fenómeno demostrado por los casos en el artículo, trazando futuras investigaciones sobre el tema y delineando formas de extender los hallazgos. The field of currency policy is increasingly important as the global economy becomes ever more integrated; however, it is poorly understood by the general public and often forgotten until a crisis arises. The influence of contingent political factors on the ability of governments to change their monetary policy is shown to be profound. Frieden makes his research accessible to a broader audience through Currency Politics; it is a challenging read in parts, but worth the effort to understand how national politics shape currency policy and the possible future of international currency regimes.

If you are interested in this review, you may also like to listen to a podcast of Professor Frieden’s LSE public lecture, ‘Lessons for the Euro from America’s Past’, recorded on 19 January 2016.In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, critical attention has shifted from the economy to the most fundamental feature of all market economies—money. Yet despite the centrality of political struggles over money, it remains difficult to articulate its democratic possibilities and limits. The Currency of Politicstakes readers from ancient Greece to today to provide an intellectual history of money, drawing on the insights of key political philosophers to show how money is not just a medium of exchange but also a central institution of political rule. Identifying the motivations for currency policy preferences on the part of industries seeking to influence politicians, Jeffry Frieden shows how each industry’s characteristics—including its exposure to currency risk and the price effects of exchange rate movements—determine those preferences. Frieden evaluates the accuracy of his theoretical arguments in a variety of historical and geographical settings: he looks at the politics of the gold standard, particularly in the United States, and he examines the political economy of European monetary integration. He also analyzes the politics of Latin American currency policy over the past forty years, and focuses on the daunting currency crises that have frequently debilitated Latin American nations, including Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil. Eich’s work is sure to be a landmark in political science. His argument is bold and ambitious; his writing clear and engaging; and his message timely, persuasive and imperative."—Erik Jones, Survival Eich’s extraordinary book provides an essential guide to thinking about the politics of money."— Adam Tooze