Until recently, the use of electronic money was limited to financial institutions and large corporations. Suddenly, with the advent of credit cards, debit cards, prepaid cash cards, and now electronic money on the Internet, the use of electronic money is proliferating at the consumer level.
What will be the social and political impact of the growth of electronic money? Will it get out of the control of national governments and their central banks? Will national territorial currencies be replaced by supranational currencies zipping around in cyberspace?
My graduate studies, for a while, shifted my focus away from the countries of Latin America and the Asia Pacific and more toward the technological and social transformation now underway in the developed countries. I began by studying the process of industrialization from its inception in 18th century Britain up to the changes taking place in the modern automobile industry as a result of Japanese and other competition, and the shift to "lean production" techniques. I examined the causes of the economic crises Western countries that began in the 1970s and continued into the 1990s.
Eventually my reading led me to seek a better understanding of the global financial system. At the same time, my long-time interest in the computer revolution led me to examine how computers are impacting society. The social and political impact of electronic money seemed to be a natural way of tying these interests together, and, for a while, it became the major research topic of my graduate studies.
Electronic money, however, is a moving target. While I found the research fascinating, there was a shortage of up-to-date academic literature on which to base a research essay. With electronic money developing so rapidly, I decided the topic was better suited to a journalistic rather than academic approach. Consequently, I returned to my earlier interest in Latin America to complete the requirements for my MA degree.
Summary of my (incomplete) research on electronic money
Here are some Internet links about electronic money:
© 1999 Richard McGuire
Last revised May 08, 2004