This book demonstrates the relevance of the historical perspective with respect to national and international payment systems. Its analysis of national and international payments develops along a dialectical path that starts with the work of the Classics (thesis), undergoes a radical turn with the advent of the neoclassical school (antithesis), and reaches the modern theory of emissions passing through Keynes¿s contribution (synthesis). That the history of economic thought occupies a legitimate place in the field of historical studies is beyond dispute. What may be less well understood is that it can serve purposes beyond those of the academic community of historians.
This book critically investigates the contributions of the greatest economists of the past to provide insights into the pathologies of today¿s systems of national and international payments and into the reforms that are needed to correct them. It will be relevant to students and researchers interested in economicpolicy and the history of economic thought.

Andrea Carrera is an Assistant Professor of Applied Economics at Complutense University of Madrid and an Affiliated Researcher at the Complutense Institute for International Studies (ICEI). He has also been serving as a Marie Sk¿odowska-Curie exchange researcher in Asia and South America. His current research interests are in monetary economics and economic catch-up.

Alvaro Cencini is Professor Emeritus of Monetary Economics at the Università della Svizzera italiana, Switzerland. He holds a D.phil degree from the University of Fribourg and a Ph.D. degree from the London School of Economics. He is the author of several books, contributions to books, and peer-reviewed journals on monetary economics.

Chapter 1. Introduction¿.- PART 1: NATIONAL PAYMENTS- Chapter 2. Nominal and real money, general equivalent, and value.- Chapter 3. From money as a numéraire to the quantity theory of money.- Chapter 4. Keynes on bank money and the 'monetary theory of production'.- Chapter 5. The macroeconomic analysis of national payments.- PART II: INTERNATIONAL PAYMENTS.- Chapter 6. The classical view of international transactions.- Chapter 7. The neoclassical approach to international transactions.- Chapter 8. Keynes's analysis of external payments.- Chapter 9. The macroeconomic analysis of international payments.- Chapter 10. Conclusion.