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This article locates Locke within broader early modern European debates about the relationship between money, precious metal, and sovereignty. Against this background, I read Locke's metallism as a considered (if nonetheless problematic) response to the practical implications of the intensification of interstate monetary movements. Locke used an emphasis on the interstate dimensions of money use in order to reframe monetary value as a function neither of sovereignty nor of the natural qualities of precious metals. Instead, he rooted a nonchartalist monetary nominalism in a social convention that operated on a scale that confounded the agency of any existing political institution or community. I use Locke's monetary writings as an entrée into the larger history of the emergence of new conceptions of commercial sociality in the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. More specifically, I argue that conceptions of commercial sociality developed not only out of the better-studied normative concerns central to post-Hobbesian and neo-Augustinian political thought but also out of an intense engagement with the practical implications of early modern commercial capitalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses fixed-value monetary systems and its transitioning standards of value. Topics include the Soft Money approach who's goal is to price stability and full employment, the fixed-value system rule applied to the hard money approach, market based fixed-value systems and the transition between gold-based Currencies and floating fiat currencies.

This article analyzes the stability of bimetallism for countries operating in integrated bullion markets that enact different legal ratios. I articulate a new theoretical framework to demonstrate that two countries can both be bimetallic only if they coordinate their legal ratios. The theoretical framework is applied to the mid-eighteenth century when London's legal ratio was 3.8 percent higher than that of Amsterdam. I find that Amsterdam was effectively on the bimetallic standard, whereas London was on a de facto gold standard. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article focuses on the history of currency question relating to monetary systems in the U.S. The author explores the two monetary systems that have existed in the U.S., namely the gold-silver standard or bimetallic standard that functioned from the 19th century to approximately 1914, and the U.S. Federal Reserve System which was initiated in 1913. The author emphasizes the stability and constancy of the dollar value, as well as its exchange value, during the bimetallic standard period. The pertinence of the U.S. Supreme Court case ''Hepburn v. Griswold in 1869 and its determination on the unconstitutionality of the use of greenbacks for payment of debts contracted before the passage of the Greenback Act in February, 1862 is addressed.

The author reflects on global monetary policy and monetary order. It is emphasized that the four major currencies are the euro, the yen, the pound and U.S. dollar. The role of fiat monetary arrangements and the influence of prior U.S. political and monetary considerations on fiat money is discussed. The author explores the theory of monetary nationalism and it being the theoretical basis for global monetary arrangements. The author expands upon the role of the Bretton Woods system of monetary management that was utilized beginning in the mid-20th century, while emphasizing that the end of its use and the return to fiat currencies led to the first peace-time high-inflation episode in the U.S.

Several computer programs are available for detecting copy number variants (CNVs) using genome-wide SNP arrays. We evaluated the performance of four CNV detection software suites—Birdsuite, Partek, HelixTree, and PennCNV-Affy—in the identification of both rare and common CNVs. Each program's performance was assessed in two ways. The first was its recovery rate, i.e., its ability to call 893 CNVs previously identified in eight HapMap samples by paired-end sequencing of whole-genome fosmid clones, and 51,440 CNVs identified by array Comparative Genome Hybridization (aCGH) followed by validation procedures, in 90 HapMap CEU samples. The second evaluation was program performance calling rare and common CNVs in the Bipolar Genome Study (BiGS) data set (1001 bipolar cases and 1033 controls, all of European ancestry) as measured by the Affymetrix SNP 6.0 array. Accuracy in calling rare CNVs was assessed by positive predictive value, based on the proportion of rare CNVs validated by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR), while accuracy in calling common CNVs was assessed by false positive/false negative rates based on qPCR validation results from a subset of common CNVs. Birdsuite recovered the highest percentages of known HapMap CNVs containing >20 markers in two reference CNV datasets. The recovery rate increased with decreased CNV frequency. In the tested rare CNV data, Birdsuite and Partek had higher positive predictive values than the other software suites. In a test of three common CNVs in the BiGS dataset, Birdsuite's call was 98.8% consistent with qPCR quantification in one CNV region, but the other two regions showed an unacceptable degree of accuracy. We found relatively poor consistency between the two ''gold standards,'' the sequence data of Kidd et al., and aCGH data of Conrad et al. Algorithms for calling CNVs especially common ones need substantial improvement, and a ''gold standard'' for detection of CNVs remains to be established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A variety of methods are available to measure preferences for temporary health states for cost-utility analyses. The objectives of this review were to summarize the available temporary health-state valuation methods, identify advantages and disadvantages of each, and identify areas for future research. We describe the key aspects of each method and summarize advantages and disadvantages of each method in terms of consistency with QALY theory, relevance to temporary health-state-specific domains, ease of use, time preference, and performance in validation studies. Two broad categories of methods were identified: traditional and adapted. Traditional methods were health status instruments, time trade-off (TTO), and the standard gamble (SG). Methods adapted specifically for temporary health-state valuation were TTO with specified duration of the health state, TTO with a lifespan modification, waiting trade-off, chained approaches for TTO and SG, and sleep trade-off. Advantages and disadvantages vary by method and no 'gold standard' method emerged. Selection of a method to value temporary health states will depend on the relative importance of the following considerations: ability to accurately capture the unique characteristics of the temporary health state, level of respondent burden and cognition, theoretical consistency of elicited preference values with the overall purpose of the study, and resources available for study development and data collection. Further research should focus on evaluating validity, reliability and feasibility of temporary health-state valuation methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Political economists have raised concerns that EMU's asymmetric institutional design leaves the project's legitimacy vulnerable to fluctuations in the perceived advantages and disadvantages of the euro. The evidence presented in this paper suggests that overall support for EMU within the euro area remained high over the period 1999-2005, thus allaying concerns over the project's legitimacy. At the same time, public attitudes towards EMU did vary from one euro-area member to another with perceived rather than actual economic performance appearing to be an important factor behind this cross-country variation. In policy terms, these findings underline the need for a system of euro-area economic governance that promotes a high degree of support for the single currency over the long-term. This will necessitate a more effective approach to output legitimation as well as policies that seek legitimacy for EMU by emphasising process, values and inputs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why has Britain declined to adopt the single currency? The conventional view holds that there are multiple political and economic barriers to British entry into monetary union-large fractions of public opinion, business leaders, and the Conservative party oppose entry; Britain's economic cycle is not synchronized with that of the euro-zone; adoption of the single currency would harm foreign trade and investment; British political institutions make it difficult to muster support for such a move, and so on. I argue that policy failure is a more important influence on British economic policy. Major changes occur when extant policy fails and there exists an alternative policy idea that both explains this failure persuasively and prescribes a new and more effective way forward. A British government might advocate euro membership if the current framework for policy in Britain - central bank independence with a floating exchange rate - fails, and policies pursued by the European Central Bank address the source of this failure. This combination would also lead many politicians, business leaders, and voters to see the advantages of euro membership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The establishment of the European Monetary Union (EMU) is very important for both the European Union and the world economy. To abolish the differences in exchange rates, to promote the development of economic relations, to boost development and employment, and to reach economic stability in member countries are the main causes of establishing the EMU. Together with the formation of the EMU, the EU completed its economic and monetary union and hopes to make transition to the next level (political union stage) emerged. Therefore, the EMU is very important for the EU for both economic and political reasons and its sound operation is vital to the EU. The sound operation of economic and monetary union is positively correlated with the Euro area being the optimum currency area. To determine whether the Euro area is an optimum currency zone and to identify measures that can be taken on the issue have important implications for the future of the Union and its effects on other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides a reassessment and a restatement of the important properties of gold standards and stresses the role of the Real Bills Doctrine in Federal Reserve policy as the main cause of the Great Contraction of 1929-1933 in the U.S. The author has taken issue with articles and books that have assigned major fault to gold standard for the decline of employment, prices, production, income, and welfare. He also tries to rectify the omissions overlooked in the studies analyzing the Great Contraction. It also demonstrates that the Real Bills Doctrine, not “the” gold standard, was the intellectual and operational basis for the disastrous Fed policy of 1929-1933.

This article explores the ways in which the classical gold standard established the foundations for a modern international monetary system with its distinctive forms of crisis and regulatory frameworks. The specific nature of this transformation is often overlooked because of a tendency in the literature to compare the gold standard in relation to subsequent monetary systems, such as Bretton Woods. To remedy this historical bias, the classical gold standard is compared with previous monetary systems and it is concluded that it contributed to expand the array of monetary instruments for conducting monetary policy. By progressively subjecting the management of fiduciary money to state control the institutions of the gold standard created a new monetary framework that opened the way for central banking. However, the commitments taken to this effect, such as provisions on the convertibility of banknotes, created new opportunities for speculation. I argue that this new weakness would become the main preoccupation of monetary policy in the 20th century and lay down the foundations for international cooperation and its novel emphasis on monetary stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article deals with Italy's policy towards European monetary integration over the period 1978-99 addressing the questions of whether , how and which 'ideas' influenced Italian policy-makers' choices. This theoretically informed and empirically grounded analysis argues that cognitive and normative elements, encompassing both 'economic ideas' and 'foreign policy beliefs', bring significant added value in explaining the 'Italian road' to economic and monetary union (EMU). Secondly, economic ideas alone do not explain Italian policy-makers' choices and, whenever different cognitive factors pulled in opposite directions, it was pro-European foreign policy beliefs that eventually prevailed in shaping policy. Thirdly, both foreign policy beliefs and economic ideas represent an intriguing case of the Europeanization of the Italian élites and the impact that such processes had on the trajectory of the country within the European Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports that the introduction of the Euro January 1, 2002 was a defining moment for many people in the participating countries, the new currency has drawn attention to the European Union (EU) and stimulated the debate on the future of the Union. It has become clear that after the introduction of the Euro the next big project which EU members will have to deal with is the admission of a member of new members.