BUSINESS

Fairer and safer to have a less-cash society

Business, Kenneth Rogoff, Published on 12/09/2016

» The world is awash in paper currency, with the central banks of major countries pumping out hundreds of billions of dollars' worth each year, mainly in very large-denomination notes such as the US$100 bill. The $100 bill accounts for almost 80% of the stunning $4,200 per capita cash supply in the United States. The ¥10,000 note (about $100) accounts for roughly 90% of all Japan's currency, where per capita cash holdings are almost $7,000. And, as I have been arguing for two decades, all this cash is facilitating growth mainly in the underground economy, not the legal one.