In the Hellenistic era, there was widespread convergence to the Attic standard and a similar narrowing of coin types in terms of aesthetics. The competition between issuers resulted in an equilibrium in which improvements to the consistency and quality of money were sought after. This...

Europe, and especially the European Union, faces major challenges from the policies of the second Trump administration, which affect not only trade but also energy, defence, digital services and payments. Uncertainty around US decisions has raised questions about the stability of the...

Dollar-denominated stablecoins are expanding rapidly. For Europe, this is not merely a technological development. The deeper question is strategic: who controls the infrastructure through which money circulates? Even where prices, contracts and accounting remain denominated in euro, a growing...

Concerns about the prospective evolution of seigniorage collected by central banks as a result of innovation in the field of money and payments are not new. They have resurfaced recently with the prospect of stablecoins gaining traction. This paper considers that commercial banks also collect a...

The 1955-56 macroeconomic crisis is a central event in modern Irish history. Yet, despite this centrality, its causes are not clearly understood. In 1955-6, Ireland, which had previously followed British interest rates in lockstep as part of its fixed exchange with the latter, briefly...

The 1955-56 macroeconomic crisis is a central event in modern Irish history. Yet, despite this centrality, its causes are not clearly understood. In 1955-6, Ireland, which had previously followed British interest rates in lockstep as part of its fixed exchange with the latter, briefly...

"Portugal in the 21st Century provides a thorough yet accessible picture of contemporary Portugal in the first two decades of the twenty-first century. It examines and elucidates Portugal's recent trajectory, its current position, and the main challenges it faces through an examination of the...