Cash on Trial

Konferenzbeitrag

Over millennia, mankind has used hard cash in various forms ranging from shells to gold coins and paper. More recently, cash has become unpopular in political circles, as it effectively restricts states’ power to tax (explicitly or via negative interest rates) or to survey and potentially control their citizens. Several states have enacted restrictions to the use of hard cash. Above all, a strong new competitor to cash has arisen in the form of various electronic means of payment. Are we heading towards a society in which ‘coined freedom’ (Dostojewski) will cease to exist? Under this provocative ‘motto’ SUERF organised a combined evening event (in German at the University of Zurich) and one-day conference (in English at the theatre ‘Millers’ in Zurich) to take stock of the arguments brought forward in the current debate on the pros and cons and, more generally, the future of cash.

Object Details

• ISBN: 978-3-902109-79-8
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: SUERF Conference Proceedings ; No. 2016/1

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis ; Informal Economy; Underground Economy ; Demand for Money ; Monetary Systems; Standards; Regimes; Government and the Monetary System; Payment Systems ; Interest Rates: Determination, Term Structure, and Effects ; Monetary Policy ; Remittances ; Financial Institutions and Services: Government Policy and Regulation ; Tax Evasion and Avoidance ; Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law ; Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements ; Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Berentsen, Aleksander ; Jonker, Nicole ; Krueger, Malte ; Leinonen, Harry ; Linsbauer, Katharina ; Passas, Nikos ; Schär, Fabian ; Schneider, Friederich ; Tasca, Paolo ; Ulbrich, Jens
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): SUERF - The European Money and Finance Forum
• (where): Vienna
• (when): 2016

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/163517
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET