Money, Information, and Uncertainty

Significantly rewritten and updated, this well known textbook covers the whole of monetary economics, from the role of money to international monetary relationships. It is unique in linking theoretical findings to policy issues and events, and extends conventional analyses of financial intermediation and monetary theory.Money, Information, and Uncertainty bridges the gap between introductory textbooks and the latest journal articles, clarifying the macroeconomic significance of a series of innovative developments in the economics of information and the analysis of financial markets and institutions. Goodhart brings out the key implications of ideas such as information asymmetries and market-completion services for problems relating to money and banking, making it easier for banking specialists who don't follow the financial literature to understand where their field is moving.The book's 18 chapters are organized around the theme that monetary phenomena can be properly understood only against a background of uncertainty and information costs, and around the premise that portfolio theory is the most appropriate analytical tool.The first 9 chapters focus on microeconomic issues, such as the role of and the demand for money and the role and functions of banks and of the Central Bank. The final 9 chapters take up macroeconomic issues, such as the transmission mechanisms of monetary policy and international monetary problems. Chapters new to this edition cover the nature of markets, credit rationing, the functions of central banks, financial regulation the determination of interest rates, and floating exchange rates.Charles Goodhart is Norman Sosnow Professor of Banking and Finance at the London School of Economics. He has served as a monetary economist and as Chief Adviser at the Bank of England. He is the author of The Evolution of Central Banks.