Single Monetary Research Articles

THE ACCOUNTING SYSTEM PRACTICED IN THE NEAR EAST DURING THE PERIOD 1220–1350 BASED ON THE BOOK RISALE-I FELEKIYYE

This study examines the governmental accounting practice in the Near East during the Il-Khan Dynasty period (1120–1350 A.D.). The survey is based on a handwritten manuscript, Risale-i Felekiyye. The accounting system introduced in the Risale-i Felekiyye is an elaborate governmental accounting system. The system was based on seven major books and a number of special journals. Documents used in the system formed the basis for recording events in the books. Furthermore, the system included concepts and rules for accounting and resulted in a final report. This accounting system emerged primarily from social and economic necessities caused by agricultural and fiscal reforms introduced by Ghazan Khan in 1295–1304. As a result of these reforms, budgeting practices and accounting regulation by the state were introduced to control state tax revenues and expenditures and to prevent fraud. These regulations introduced the use of a single monetary unit for recording, the use of an accounting fiscal period, duality, classification, substance, procedural rules which introduced a bilateral journal entry form, agency account rules, and correction and control rules. Also the rule of “revenues have to be equal to expenditures” presented itself as a balance sheet identity equation. These regulations, however, were not based on the accrual principle; instead, a cash basis of accounting was the recognized practice. The study concludes that the rudiments of double-entry accounting were practiced in the Near East and were developed independently from the accounting practices used in the West.

Single Market, Exchange Rates and Monetary Unification

Single Market, Exchange Rates and Monetary Unification

Comments on the Steinherr Paper: “From here to EMU…”

The paper presented by A. Steinherr has the great merit of reviewing a range of issues not usually discussed in the EMU debate. As a preliminary remark, however, the paper puts forward an overpessimistic interpretation of the Treaty. The changeover to a single monetary policy and to a single currency is certainly a very sensitive issue, where emotions and psychology are perhaps more important than technical questions.

Assessing the quality of expressed preference measures of value

This paper proposes an approach for assessing the quality of expressed preference measures of value. A set of attributes relevant to public policy and social choice was used to distinguish between private and public goods. The relationship between the attribute variables and four different expressions of value (willingness to pay, cost, importance, and benefit) was used as a basis for examining value definitions. The results suggest that people generally define value in terms that are more complex than can be captured by a single, and particularly a single monetary, expression of value alone. Implications for public policy are discussed in terms of developing higher-quality value measures through a better understanding of their attribute components.

The economics of rice production in developing countries

Abstract Reasons for learning about the economics of rice production are reviewed. The systems in which rice is grown in the principal rice‐producing areas of the world are described. The technology typically used in each system is identified, as are the main differences in the economic factors that help determine the technology used. The costs of the inputs used for rice production are expressed in terms of quantities of paddy required for their purchase, which permits direct comparison across countries without conversion into a single monetary unit.

Structural Stability of International Capital Mobility: An Analysis of Short-Term U.S.-Canadian Bank Claims

JT is widely believed that international capital mobility has been increasing over recent years and that this contributes to greater interdependence among the various world economies. In particular, it is felt that greater capital mobility serves to inhibit the effectiveness of any single country's monetary or fiscal policy, depending on the degree of exchange rate flexibility.' In addition, some observers suspect that high capital mobility serves as a conduit for the transmission of economic disturbances among nations.2 In light of these issues, there are two fundamental empirical questions associated with international capital mobility. The first is whether the degree of capital mobility has in fact changed over recent years. The second is whether any noted change in capital mobility has altered the effectiveness of monetary and fiscal policy and the international transmission of economic disturbances. In this article we address the first question, for as a practical matter, if capital mobility has not changed, the second question is moot. It is our purpose to apply a technique for determining the presence and timing of significant changes in capital mobility and for detecting whether capital mobility has been increasing, decreasing, or remaining constant over time. In the process we will also compare the stability of alternative capital-flow models. Section I defines capital mobility and presents two models of international capital flows. These models, which have appeared in one form or another in the literature over the past decade, represent alternative hypotheses regarding the determinants of short-term capital movement. Section II estimates these models using a specific set of data. Section III describes the statistical method to be used to identify the timing of structural shifts in the capital flow models. It also analyzes the results of applying this method and draws inferences about changes in capital mobility over the sample period. Section IV summarizes the findings and conclusions.

THE DEMAND FOR MONEY AND PRICE EXPECTATIONS IN AUSTRALIA

IT IS FREQUENTLY SUGGESTED that the demand for real money balances depends on the expected rate of inflation. For example, Friedman [9] includes this variable amongst those which can be expected to influence the demand for money. He argues that the variable represents the return on one of the alternative ways in which wealth can be held-physical goods. The question of whether or not the anticipated rate of inflation belongs in the demand for money equation is an important one. Turnovsky [26] develops a model in which the inclusion of the expected rate of inflation in certain equations, including the demand for money function, causes it to have an influence on the real behaviour of the economy. Also, if the effect of monetary policy is to be predicted accurately the correct specification of the demand for money equation must be determined. However, investigators have frequently failed to detect the influence of this variable in studies based on actual data. Some recent exceptions are provided by the studies by Goldfeld [10] and Shapiro [23] for the United States, Smith and Winder [24] for Canada and Juttner and Tuckwell [11] and Lewis and Wallace [13] for Australia. The purpose of this study is to provide further empirical evidence for the Australian case. It differs from previous studies in a number of respects. For example, the process by which expectations are generated differs from the processes adopted in previous studies. It also has two additional aims which differentiate it from earlier studies. First, it considers the validity of aggregating the demands for certain monetary assets into a single demand for money function. Most of the studies mentioned above deal with a single monetary aggregate; Lewis and Wallace consider only the demand for savings deposits. This study reports separate equations explaining the demand for notes and coin and current (cheque) deposits. These assets have been chosen because they possess the common characteristic that they can be converted into cash on demand. Secondly, an aspect of the Australian banking system which has been ignored in previous studies is examined in this paper. Australian trading banks lend on the overdraft system and at any point in time there is a substantial amount available to borrowers in the unused portions of their overdraft accounts. It has frequently been argued that the value of this store of liquidity should be included in measures of the money supply. This proposition is tested by the equations reported in this paper.

Consideration of deduction and allocation of surgical fees by Blue Shield plans.

The practice of deduction and allocation in Massachusetts is based on a concept that regards each surgical procedure as having a single monetary value which, in the case of a service-benefit member, covers the entire surgical experience regardless of the number of physicians involved. Deductions of 15% for assisting and 15% for after-care can be allocated to any physician who does in fact assist or render after-care. After being in use for 15 years without serious question, and after being found in harmony with the ethical principles of state and national societies, the procedure has been attacked as unethical. Analysis of the ethical and financial aspects of these practices in Massachusetts makes such attacks appear unwarranted. Experience during 15 years of operation shows that if Blue Shield in Massachusetts is to continue to operate on a fee-for-service basis with free choice of physician, it should employ deduction and allocation. If this is done in accordance with a predetermined formula which is fully publicized, with due regard to certain principles outlined by the author, Blue Shield of Massachusetts can continue to protect its service-members adequately, adjust to varying patterns of medical practice, remain sound financially, and operate in accordance with proper medical ethical principles.