The thesis is focused on local currencies. In response to the current economic crisis, there is a renaissance of interest in the local currencies round the world. The local currency is seen as a useful tool for promoting economic growth. In this work, we concluded that their success is conditioned by several factors. The German local currency Chiemgauer was studied as it serves as an example for other local currencies. I described the Czech relevant discourse and proposed terminology. Further, I presented an overview of complementary currencies in the Czech Republic. The planned local currency of the town of Uvaly (which should be the first genuine local currency in the Czech Republic) was analyzed. Based on the calculated local multiplier I identified potential for a successful role of this forthcoming local currency.

A crise de 2008 deflagrou uma onda de questionamentos em relação à contribuição social dos bancos dada às inovações financeiras que atendiam desejos gananciosos enquanto milhões de pessoas continuavam excluídas de crédito e de cidadania, tem-se aí um quadro de crise de legitimidade. O desafio da sustentabilidade se torna cada vez mais popular, fazendo com que a crescente preocupação com os impactos socioambientais das nossas ações seja incorporada ao conjunto de valores da sociedade com impacto, também, sobre a licença social para os bancos existirem, dado que por trás de muitos empreendimentos que devastam nossos capitais social e natural tem o financiamento bancário. O que fazer perante uma crise desta? Trabalhar para retornar ao estado anterior à eclosão do problema ou assumir a responsabilidade para a mudança? Esta tese visa a olhar como os bancos podem responder aos desafios deste cenário de convergências de crise (notadamente, uma econômica e outra ambiental). Mostramos que ao adotarem a transição para a sustentabilidade como negócio central implicando em práticas que não parecem economicamente atraentes (ou responsável), como o financiamento para atingir uma escala ótima de produção e consumo, o fomento ao decrescimento ou à estabilização para manter esta escala, o uso de moedas complementares junto a moedas convencionais e a organização de processos em rede, na verdade, estão desenvolvendo e explorando a nova fonte de vantagem competitiva e de manutenção dos bancos a longo prazo, trazendo diversos benefícios para a empresa e para a sociedade, numa verdadeira relação simbiótica. / The 2008 crisis triggered a wave of questions concerning the social contribution of banks given the financial innovations that met greedy desires while millions of people were still excluded from credit and citizenship, that brings us to a legitimacy crisis. The sustainability challenge becomes increasingly popular, that is, or growing concern about the social and environmental impacts of our actions becomes embedded in our societys set of values. That has a strong impact on the social license for banks to operate, given that many projects that devastate our social and natural capital are bank financed. What to do before such a crisis? Work hard to return to the state before the onset of the problem or take responsibility for change? This thesis aims to answer how banks can meet the challenges of this scenario of converging crises (notably, an economic and an environmental crisis). We show that by adopting the transition to sustainability as a core business resulting in practices that do not seem economically attractive (or responsible), as funding to achieve an optimal scale of production and consumption, and then promoting the decrease or stabilization to maintain this scale, the use of complementary currencies with conventional ones and creating network processes, in fact, are actually developing and exploring the new source of competitive advantage and maintenance of banks operations in the long term, bringing many benefits to companies and to society, in a true symbiotic relationship.

Diese Dissertation widmet sich der Identifikation von Währungsrisiko sowie der Analyse der Determinanten von Währungsrisiko sowie des ökonomischen Effektes.

AbstractThe European Central Bank defines virtual currencies as ”unregulated, digital money, which is issued and usuallycontrolled by its developers, and used and accepted among the members of a specific virtual community.”(European Central Bank, 2012, p. 5) The interest in virtual currencies has increased immensely over the last fewyears as they become increasingly prevalent in our society across many different industries. Up until now, the field ofvirtual currencies has been mainly uncharted land and despite interest in specific currencies, few attempts havebeen made at understanding or structuring the entire landscapeThe main research question in this thesis is related to the previously mentioned dilemma: understanding andstructuring the virtual currency ecosystem, today and in the future. How can the virtual currency landscape currentlybe analyzed in a structured manner and what framework can be used to reflect and make predictions on the futuredevelopment?The thesis is based on four different sources of information: a literature study of existing material, corporateinterviews with companies dealing with virtual currencies and consumer interviews with potential early adopters, anonline survey and a case study performed at Ericsson M-Commerce. The case study of Ericsson M-Commerce hasprovided valuable insight into understanding how companies reason when considering adopting virtual currenciesinto their product portfolio and greatly helped the process of structuring the virtual currency market in acomprehensive manner. In return, the thesis has also provided decision material for the department concerningvirtual currencies.This thesis divides virtual currencies into five groups: Prepaid Value, Loyalty Points, Monetization Currencies, GamingCurrencies and Value Encoded Currencies. This model has been developed as a framework for the analysis of thecurrent situation in this thesis. However, the analysis in the thesis has shown that as virtual currencies evolve, it willprobably become more relevant to instead consider their functions. It is likely that virtual currencies will consolidateinto three distinct functional types: virtual currency as a unit of account, virtual currency as a business model formonetization, and virtual currencies as a product that can be sold.As virtual currencies evolve, the future is not only filled with many challenges, but also many new opportunities. Inthis thesis, an attempt to gain an abstract understanding of how the field is developing has been made, but it remains to be seen what the real impacts of virtual currencies will be as they continue to gain traction.

The development of Internet technology has promoted the progress of all aspects of society. Under the background of Internet finance, the traditional financial model is changing, such as currency payment. With the deepening of Internet technology, the virtualization of money is deepening, and the market entry, trading and payment methods are also subverting the tradition. Bitcoin as a new means of payment began to appear in the public eye. It is a challenge to the traditional way of trading supported by Internet technology. Despite the constant controversy since its inception, Bitcoin still occupies a place with its unique advantages - Asymmetric encryption, decentralization,transparency of transaction records and so on. In the eyes of opponents, Bitcoin is more of a highly speculative asset, and as it becomes progressively more difficult to mine, the cost of mining is increasing. However, in the eyes of supporters, it is a reliable means of payment, not subject to government supervision, nor will it produce a virtual transaction record. From the regulator's point of view, it is more like a shelter for unscrupulous people to evade regulation and commit money laundering and crime. It is undeniable that in just a few years, Bitcoin has developed to a certain scale,has a certain industrial chain...

Questo lavoro si propone di analizzare il sistema di scambio su scala locale Sardex.net, che è stato fondato in Sardegna nel 2010, è rivolto alle piccole e medie imprese e utilizza una moneta complementare che si affianca alla valuta ufficiale. Si adotterà una prospettiva prevalentemente sociologica, ma che si avvarrà anche dei contributi che altre discipline, quali l’antropologia, la filosofia e l’economia, possono fornire ai fini di una più ampia comprensione del fenomeno oggetto di studio. Saranno individuati, nei resoconti delle esperienze e delle aspettative dei soggetti coinvolti, aspetti legati allo scambio che mostrino come la pratica monetaria possa essere attuata in modalità differenti da quelle a cui ci ha abituato il sistema del mercato globale, e quali effetti queste differenze possano implicare su diversi piani, da quello economico a quello della coesione sociale e della sostenibilità ambientale. Inoltre si farà luce sui diversi generi di capitale che, oltre a quello finanziario, possono entrare in gioco in un sistema che opera all’interno di un territorio specifico come la Sardegna e si fonda su principi orientati al sostegno dell’economia locale. Saranno infine approfondite le relazioni che intercorrono tra questi diversi generi di capitale e le transazioni che tra loro possono occorrere. / This work is focused on the analysis of a local circuit of exchange addressed to PMI named Sardex.net, established in Sardinia in 2010 and based on a complementary currency. The adopted perspective is mainly sociological, with some contributions belonging to the anthropological, philosophical and economical theories in order to enhance a wider comprehension of the phenomenon. The insight on the experiences and expectations of the people involved aims to bring out issues linked to the exchange that show how the monetary practice can be interpreted in a different way in comparison to the global market’s widespread vision and how this differences affect economy, social cohesion and environmental sustainability. Moreover, different species of capital with social relevance that can play a role in a system of exchange operating in a specific territory such as Sardinia and based on the principle of the support of local economy will be highlighted, together with the relationships and possible transactions occurring between those different species of capital.

Den snabba framfarten av blockkedjetekniken samt teknikens disruptiva möjligheter inom den finansiella sektorn har lett fram till vad denna studien undersöker; blockkedjeteknikens påverkan på utlandsbetalningar och huruvida marknaden för utlandsbetalningar påverkas av den ökade utforskningen och användningen av tekniken. Faktorerna kostnad tid och säkerhet kopplat till utlandsbetalningar analyseras för att ta reda på hur dessa skulle kunna påverkas. För att lättare få en förståelse för kostnader, tid och säkerhet kopplat till utlandsbetalningar inom bankindustrin utreds även hur en traditionell utlandsbetalning går till. När en ny disruptiv teknik växer fram och börjar användas i allt större omfång kan det frambringa konsekvenser som påverkar hela branschen. Därav tar denna studie även upp hur den finansiella marknaden kan komma att förändras till följd av blockkedjetekniken och vad det kan innebära för organisationer. Fintech-bolag har på senare år tagit allt större plats på den finansiella marknaden och fortsätter att styrka deras marknadsposition. Samtidigt som banker måste anpassa sig till teknikens utveckling måste de även förhålla sig till fintech-bolagens starka framväxt. Många storbanker investerar i fintech-bolag för att på så sätt kunna följa med den snabba digitala utvecklingen. Allianser mellan banker och fintech-bolag benämns fintech 2.0. Tack vare teknikens snabba utveckling i samband med digitaliseringen är det svårt att förutspå vad som kommer att definiera den finansiella sektorn i framtiden. Fortsatt forskning inom området är nödvändigt för att förstå hur processer, organisationer och marknader kommer att förändras till följd av utvecklingen. / The rapid progress of blockchain technology and the disruptive possibilities of technology in the financial sector has led to what this study examines; the impact of blockchain technology on cross-border payments and whether the market for foreign payments is affected by the increased exploration and use of the technology. Factors such as cost, time and security linked to cross-border payments are analyzed to find out how these could be affected. In order to get an understanding of costs, time and security linked to cross-border payments in the banking industry, we also investigate how a traditional cross-border payment is being executed. When a new disruptive technique emerges and begins to be used in a wider range, it can cause consequences that affect the entire industry. Hence, this study also examines how the financial market may change as a result of blockchain technology and what it might mean to organizations. In recent years, fintech companies have taken more place in the financial market and continued to strengthen their market position. While banks must adapt to the technology development, they must also relate to the strong growth of the fintech companies. Many major banks invest in fintech companies in order to be able to follow the fast digital development. Alliances between banks and fintech companies are called fintech 2.0. Thanks to the rapid development of technology in connection with digitization, it is difficult to predict what will define the financial sector in the future. Continuing research in the field is necessary to understand how processes, organizations and markets will change as a result of the development.

This thesis within Industrial Economics and Applied Mathematics examines the term commodity currency. The thesis delves into analysing the characteristics and consequences of such a currency through a macroeconomic perspective while discussing previous studies within the matter. The applied mathematical statistics section audits the correlation between the currency and the commodities of the exporting country through a time series regression. The regression is based on the currency as the dependent variable and the commodities represent the covariates. Furthermore, a trading strategy is developed to see if a profit can be made on the foreign exchange market when looking at the commodity price movements. / Det här kandidatexamensarbetet är skrivet inom industriell ekonomi och tillämpad matematik och granskar termen råvaruvaluta (commodity currency). Uppsatsen analyserar, utifrån ett makroekonomiskt perspektiv, karaktärsdragen och konsekvenserna av en sådan valuta, samtidigt som den diskuterar tidigare studier inom ämnet. Delen inom tillämpad matematik undersöker korrelationen mellan valutan och råvarorna som landet exporterar genom en tidsserieregression. Regressionen är baserad på valutan som responsvariabel samtidigt som råvarorna representerar kovariaterna. Den färdiga modellen används sedan i en handelsstrategi som försöker förutspå växelkursens rörelser genom att titta på råvarornas rörelser.

The European Central Bank defines virtual currencies as ”unregulated, digital money, which is issued and usually controlled by its developers, and used and accepted among the members of a specific virtual community.” (European Central Bank, 2012, p. 5) The interest in virtual currencies has increased immensely over the last few years as they become increasingly prevalent in our society across many different industries. Up until now, the field of virtual currencies has been mainly uncharted land and despite interest in specific currencies, few attempts have been made at understanding or structuring the entire landscape The main research question in this thesis is related to the previously mentioned dilemma: understanding and structuring the virtual currency ecosystem, today and in the future. How can the virtual currency landscape currently be analyzed in a structured manner and what framework can be used to reflect and make predictions on the future development? The thesis is based on four different sources of information: a literature study of existing material, corporate interviews with companies dealing with virtual currencies and consumer interviews with potential early adopters, an online survey and a case study performed at Ericsson M-Commerce. The case study of Ericsson M-Commerce has provided valuable insight into understanding how companies reason when considering adopting virtual currencies into their product portfolio and greatly helped the process of structuring the virtual currency market in a comprehensive manner. In return, the thesis has also provided decision material for the department concerning virtual currencies. This thesis divides virtual currencies into five groups: Prepaid Value, Loyalty Points, Monetization Currencies, Gaming Currencies and Value Encoded Currencies. This model has been developed as a framework for the analysis of the current situation in this thesis. However, the analysis in the thesis has shown that as virtual currencies evolve, it will probably become more relevant to instead consider their functions. It is likely that virtual currencies will consolidate into three distinct functional types: virtual currency as a unit of account, virtual currency as a business model for monetization, and virtual currencies as a product that can be sold. As virtual currencies evolve, the future is not only filled with many challenges, but also many new opportunities. In this thesis, an attempt to gain an abstract understanding of how the field is developing has been made, but it remains to be seen what the real impacts of virtual currencies will be as they continue to gain traction.

<p>In this dissertation I present three chapters all related by their focus on issues of money and finance and the methodological treatment, the New Monetarist methodology, each considering different aspects of the international monetary-financial system. Williamson and Wright (2010) describe the New Monetarist methodology in detail, including enumerating several key principles, which put emphasis on microfoundations, especially of the frictions in the exchange process and financial intermediation arising from the environment, which are essential to analyses of macro and monetary economics. </p> <p><br></p> <p>The first chapter is entitled ``Optimal Monetary Policy and the Welfare Cost of Inflation of a Currency Union.'' It seeks to answer the question: How do retail trade frictions interact with immigration choices, and how does this interaction affect monetary policy in a currency union? This chapter studies the welfare cost of inflation and optimal monetary policy of a currency union between two countries using a search-theoretic framework with endogenous composition of buyers and sellers. The model includes three features of a currency union that are key to welfare and policy analysis: heterogeneous market structure, imperfect market integration, and immigration policy. The model yields optimal monetary policy that deviates from the Friedman rule, with the magnitude of inflation rate and welfare cost determined by different policy regimes. The Friedman rule is suboptimal, because a matching congestion externality in the labor market arises from the endogenous composition of buyers and sellers. Higher labor mobility reduces the cost of inflation by alleviating congestion, regardless of buyers' bargaining power. Market integration may also reduce congestion, lowering the cost of inflation, but only when sellers are relatively scarce.</p> <p><br></p> <p>The second chapter is entitled ``Liquidity, Collective Moral Hazard, and Government Bailouts''. It tries to answer the question: How does financial intermediaries risk taking respond to monetary/fiscal policy including bailout policy?</p> <p>This chapter develops a general equilibrium model of assets market integrating a theory of liquidity risk in a New Monetarist framework. Collective moral hazard arises from the interaction between banks' maturity transformation and government intervention. With the anticipation and implementation of government bailouts during a crisis, collective moral hazard creates current and deferred social costs. However,  under the ``correct" monetary policy, the costs are justified by the improvement of liquidity condition as a result of higher provision of public and private liquidity.</p> <p><br></p> <p>The third chapter is entitled  ``On Cross-Border Payments and the Industrial Organization of Correspondent Banking.''  It tries to answer the question: How does an understanding of the market structure of international banking affect recent suggestions for the improvement of cross-border payments?</p> <p>Despite advances in domestic payments arrangements in recent times, cross-border payments remain expensive and slow. This paper builds a model of bank-intermediated cross-border payments, identifying market power inherent to correspondent banking relationships as the key friction reducing efficiency. After developing a simple model of correspondent banking, we consider two policy experiments: the introduction by one country of an internationally held central bank digital currency (CBDC), and development of an internationally interoperable settlement system. Both policies can at least attenuate the inefficiencies in cross-border payments, but neither is automatically a complete solution nor are they without difficulties. For an international CBDC, we identify a political economy barrier: banks of the country potentially introducing the CBDC disproportionately suffer losses while benefits tend to accrue to foreign depositors, so a central bank concerned with its domestic banks' profitability may be unlikely to take such an action. Interoperability does not face the same barrier, as benefits accrue more symmetrically, but we argue that technical and other issues inherent to interoperability may be difficult to overcome.</p> <p><br></p>