Table of Contents

Contents: 1. Introduction 2. What is Money? 3. The Credit Theory of Money 4. The Social Origins of Money: The Case of Egypt 5. The Archaeology of Money: Debt versus Barter Theories of Money’s Origins 6. The Primacy of Trade Debts in the Development of Money 7. The Emergence of Capitalist Credit Money 8. Conclusion: The Credit Money and State Money Approaches Index

About the Author

Edited by L. Randall Wray, Senior Scholar, Levy Economics Institute; Professor of Economics, Bard College, US

Reviews

"'Most monetary economists today have probably never heard of A. Mitchell Innes, but they should have done. Randall Wray and his colleagues have provided an invaluable service in mapping out the "road not taken" in monetary economics in such detail. Moreover, this is not just a matter of antiquarian interest. The consequences of the profession's unquestioning acceptance of the more traditional, but arguably quite erroneous, conception of money have been profound, with directly negative consequences for the contemporary understanding of the functioning of capitalism and for policy advice.' - John Smithin, York University, Canada 'In Credit and State Theories of Money, Professor Randy Wray continues and extends the influential tradition established by his path-breaking contribution Money and Credit in Capitalist Economies (1990). The focus in the current book is on the work of A. Mitchell Innes and his contributions in the early 20th century which "had caught Keynes's eye". This focus enables this important contribution to push the frontiers of our knowledge on monetary and credit phenomena both in terms of analysis and of their historical development.' - Philip Arestis, The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, US"