Money in the Twenty-First Century audiobook cover - Cheap, Mobile, and Digital

Money in the Twenty-First Century

Cheap, Mobile, and Digital

Richard Holden

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Money & InvestmentsTechnology & the FutureEconomics

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Money in the Twenty-First Century
The 2008 Turning Point+
The Decline of Cash+
Mobile Money & Inclusion+
Rise of Cryptocurrencies+
The State's Answer: Govcoins+
Redrawing Global Power+
The Era of Cheap Money+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 7
According to the book, what underlying economic shifts have caused the natural rate of interest to collapse, making cheap money the default?
  • A. Central banks permanently banned high-interest lending to prevent another global financial crisis.
  • B. Modern tech firms require less capital to scale, and aging populations have created an excess of global savings.
  • C. The rapid adoption of cryptocurrencies has drained capital from traditional commercial banking systems.
  • D. Governments have enforced strict price controls on consumer goods to artificially suppress inflation.
Question 2 of 7
What is a primary risk of rushing the transition away from physical cash, as illustrated by India's 2016 demonetization?
  • A. It causes hyperinflation as digital money multiplies faster than physical currency.
  • B. It allows foreign tech companies to completely monopolize the domestic banking sector.
  • C. It disproportionately harms low-income groups and the unbanked, eroding public trust.
  • D. It forces central banks to adopt highly energy-intensive blockchain technology.
Question 3 of 7
How have mobile money systems impacted developing regions like Kenya and Afghanistan?
  • A. They have primarily served as speculative assets for wealthy foreign investors.
  • B. They have expanded financial inclusion, reducing poverty in Kenya and cutting corruption in Afghanistan.
  • C. They have caused a collapse of local currencies due to unregulated digital money printing.
  • D. They have forced central banks in these countries to ban physical cash entirely.
Question 4 of 7
What key innovation did Ethereum introduce that differentiated it from Bitcoin's peer-to-peer payment focus?
  • A. A centralized ledger controlled by a consortium of major international banks.
  • B. Programmable contracts enforced by code instead of lawyers or institutions.
  • C. A physical token system that backs the digital currency with national gold reserves.
  • D. An official partnership with the Federal Reserve to process international trade.
Question 5 of 7
What event served as a major catalyst for central banks around the world to accelerate their own plans to issue official digital currencies (govcoins)?
  • A. The realization that physical cash was spreading global pandemics.
  • B. A United Nations mandate requiring all member states to digitize their economies by 2030.
  • C. The sudden collapse of the SWIFT international payment network in 2019.
  • D. Facebook's announcement of its plans to launch a private global digital currency called Libra.
Question 6 of 7
How could China's digital yuan threaten the U.S. dollar's dominant position in global finance?
  • A. By enabling new international payment networks that operate outside the reach of Western regulators and sanctions.
  • B. By forcing all Chinese exports to be purchased exclusively with physical gold.
  • C. By utilizing a highly energy-intensive blockchain that outpaces American cryptocurrency mining.
  • D. By automatically converting all U.S. dollar holdings in Asia into Chinese yuan via smart contracts.
Question 7 of 7
According to the text, what is a major economic consequence of persistently low interest rates combined with limited traditional investment opportunities?
  • A. A significant decrease in wealth inequality across advanced economies.
  • B. The complete elimination of national debt for most developed nations.
  • C. Increased vulnerability to asset bubbles as money flows into property, stocks, and speculation.
  • D. A rapid increase in the natural cost of borrowing for early-stage tech startups.

Money in the Twenty-First Century — Full Chapter Overview

Money in the Twenty-First Century Summary & Overview

Money in the Twenty-First Century (2024) explores how technological shifts are reshaping the nature and function of money. It examines the rise of digital currencies, mobile payment systems, and low-interest economic environments, highlighting their impact on financial institutions and global economies.

Who Should Listen to Money in the Twenty-First Century?

  • Professionals exploring the future of finance
  • Tech-savvy minds interested in digital currencies
  • Anyone seeking insight into modern money

About the Author: Richard Holden

Richard Holden is a Professor of Economics at the University of New South Wales and President of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia. He earned his PhD from Harvard and has taught at the University of Chicago and MIT. His other notable works include Australia’s Pandemic Exceptionalism and the co-authored textbook Principles of Economics.

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