In Search of Stability: Economics of Money, History of the Rupee
Sashi Sivramkrishna
Manohar, New Delhi 2015, 490 pages
ISBN 978-93-5098-100-9
In Search of Stability seeks to understand the economics of money through a narrative on the history of the rupee. The period delineated for study is from the time of introduction of the rupee by Sher Shah Suri in 1542 up to 1971, the year which marked the beginning of the end of the Bretton Woods era and a fixed exchange rate regime.
The underlying thread that runs through the narrative
is the positive economics of money and history of the rupee. This is a book that explains what happened
rather than raising normative questions on what ought to have happened or what
could have been a more appropriate monetary system for India.
The economics of money also draws us into
understanding the evolution of monetary instruments through history and their
impact on the economy. These instruments
cannot be separated from the institutions that develop and are developed by
them. A digression into a study of the
origins, nature and development of some of the most important monetary
institutions in India has therefore been included in this book.
While standards of living have risen enormously, money
has struggled to maintain its value across place and time, without definitive
success. This has brought with it crises
and severe hardship to entire societies; a lesson which the history of the
rupee unequivocally reveals.
The book is available through
the publisher, Manohar (New Delhi) or Amazon-India. Below are the links.
