“A brilliant and lucid new book” (John Lanchester, New York Times Magazine ) about why paper money and digital currencies lie at the heart of many of the world’s most difficult problems―and their solutions In The Curse of Cash , acclaimed economist and bestselling author Kenneth Rogoff explores the past, present, and future of currency, showing why, contrary to conventional economic wisdom, the regulation of paper bills―and now digital currencies―lies at the heart some of the world’s most difficult problems, but also their potential solutions. When it comes to currency, history shows that the private sector often innovates but eventually the government regulates and appropriates. Using examples ranging from the history of standardized coinage to the development of paper money, Rogoff explains why the cryptocurrency boom will inevitably end with dominant digital currencies created and controlled by governments, regardless of what Bitcoin libertarians want. Advanced countries still urgently need to stem the global flood of large paper bills―the vast majority of which serve no legitimate purpose and only enable tax evasion and other crimes―but cryptocurrencies are like $100 bills on steroids. The Curse of Cash is filled with revealing insights about many of the most pressing issues facing monetary policymakers, from quantitative easing to alternative inflation targeting regimes. It also explains in detail why, if low interest rates persist, the best way to reinvigorate monetary policy is to implement fully effective and unconstrained negative interest rates. Provocative, engaging, and backed by compelling original arguments and evidence, The Curse of Cash has sparked widespread debate and its ideas have moved to the center of financial and policy discussions. "Winner of the 2017 PROSE Award in Economics, Association of American Publishers" "One of Financial Times (FT.com) Best Economics Books of 2016" "One of Bloomberg’s Best Books of 2016" "Selected for Canada’s Financial Post Best Personal Finance and Economics Books of 2016" "Longlisted for the Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year 2016" "In a brilliant and lucid new book, The Curse of Cash , the Harvard economist Kenneth Rogoff gives a fascinating and thorough account of the argument against cash." ---John Lanchester, New York Times Magazine "An excellent book on the history and the origins of cash, which also goes into much depth on the issue of cash constraining monetary policy." ---Jon Hartley, Forbes.com "The great accomplishment of his book is that his arguments are convincing. . . . It's clear and coherent, and even if you disagree with him in the end, chances are you'll think a little bit differently about something of which most of us give no thought whatsoever." ---Bethany McLean, Washington Post "[A] fascinating economic manifesto. . . . [ The Curse of Cash ] is an absorbing exploration of the uses, and misuses, of currency, and its intractability in controlling modern economies." ― Publishers Weekly "Economist Rogoff, the former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, offers a detailed case for eliminating paper money. . . . For both the elimination of paper money and the employment of negative interest rates to combat deflationary recessions, Rogoff painstakingly presents both the advantages and the drawbacks. . . . Provocative." ― Library Journal "In a witty new book, The Curse of Cash , economist Kenneth Rogoff argues the human race would be better off without paper money. He's onto something." ---Hiawatha Bray, Boston Globe "[ The Curse of Cash ] makes the case for encouraging the U.S. government to drastically scale back on $100 bills in circulation. The book . . . offers a thought-provoking theory for phasing out paper money, not eliminating it." ---Susan Tompor, Detroit Free Press "Meticulously written, [ The Curse of Cash ] covers everything needed for such a monetary reform. But the book is not excessively polemical. Rogoff details almost all the arguments against tinkering with paper currency, then labors to refute or defuse them." ---Peter Garber, Finance & Development "Rogoff is always worth listening to. . . . Where Rogoff is on very solid ground is when he says the process of weaning us further off cash should begin with the abolition of high-denomination notes." ---David Smith, Sunday Times "Rogoff makes a compelling case for the crime-fighting power of his idea." ---David Nicklaus, St. Louis Post Dispatch "[Rogoff] understands that getting rid of cash . . . is not exactly an easy sell. So Rogoff builds the case against cash, loading up on all the things wrong with paper money. . . . Rogoff's case against cash is so cogently argued that it's hard to believe that we haven't already gotten rid of paper bills and coins--or at least larger bills." ---Mark Gimein, Strategy+Business.com "An illuminating, provocative and fact-packed work that does make you wonde