Volume 24, 1 – Winter (2020), pp. 45-60

A Conceptual framework for classifying currencies

Louis Larue UCLouvain, Belgium, louis.larue@uclouvain.be; Place Montesquieu 3, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

Abstract

An impressive variety of new forms of money has aroused in recent decades from various groups of people and various kinds of institutions. These currencies are at the heart of intense debates, which raise important, but often neglected, normative issues. The diversity of their goals, uses and characteristics is so large that it makes some preliminary distinctions necessary. This paper aims at providing a proper background for the discussion of the possible merits and drawbacks of different kinds of currencies. It proposes a classification that demarcates currencies according to how they relate to several crucial normative issues. Its aim is to show, for every type of currency, and as unambiguously as possible, to which side of these controversies it lies.

Keywords

Money, alternative currencies, typologies, classification. Article Larue To cite this article: Larue, L (2020) ‘A conceptual framework for classifying currencies’ International Journal of Community Currency Research Volume 24 (Winter 2020) 45-60; http://www.ijccr.net; ISSN 1325-9547; DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.15133/j.ijccr.2020.004