Cash in East Asia

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xv

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2. On the Role of Cash in East Asia

   • Frank Rövekamp, Moritz Bälz, Hanns Günther Hilpert

   Pages 1-12

3. Cash and Its Impact on Society

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 13-13

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   2. The Use of Cash in Europe and East Asia

      • Masaaki Shirakawa

      Pages 15-26

   3. New Estimates for the Shadow Economies of 11 Asian Countries from 2000 to 2014

      • Friedrich Schneider

      Pages 27-41

   4. De-monetisation, Re-monetisation, and Parallel Currencies in North Korea

      • Rüdiger Frank

      Pages 43-61

4. Cash and Monetary Policy

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 63-63

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   2. Domestic Liquidity Conditions and Monetary Policy in Singapore

      • Hwee Kwan Chow

      Pages 65-76

   3. Fully Reserve-Backed Money: A Solution to Japan’s Fiscal and Monetary Challenges

      • Franz Waldenberger

      Pages 77-98

5. On the Way to Cashless Societies?

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 99-99

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   2. A Coinless Society as a Bridge to a Cashless Society: A Korean Experiment

      • Woosik Moon

      Pages 101-115

   3. The Ongoing Evolution of Payment Instruments in China: A Case Study in Financial Innovation, and on the Role of the Central Bank

      • Patrick Hess

      Pages 117-131

   4. The Use of Cash in Germany: Status and Outlook

      • Erwin Gladisch

      Pages 133-151

   5. Restricting the Use of Cash in the European Monetary Union: Legal Aspects

      • Helmut Siekmann

      Pages 153-178

6. Back Matter

   Pages 179-181

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This book presents contributions by leading academics and practitioners from central banks to shed light on the function and impact of cash in Asian countries. It explores the impact of cash on society, the role of cash in monetary policy, and the future of cash in various monetary systems, contrasting case studies from China, Japan, Korea, and Singapore with experiences from Europe. 

Recently the role of cash in the economy has become a much-discussed topic in Europe, but the issue is also of considerable relevance in Asia. Singapore and South Korea, for example, are relatively advanced in the use of cashless payments for daily exchanges, while countries like Japan still largely rely on cash for a wide range of transactions. Some economists argue for the abolition of cash so as to facilitate transactions, reduce the monetary scope of criminal transactions, and expand the available options for monetary policy through negative interest rates. Opposing voices claim that such a step would reduce the freedom of individuals and lead to a greater potential for monetary repression. The abolition of cash could also significantly impact the public’s monetary psychology, thereby influencing their inflation expectations, portfolio structure, saving behavior, and other important monetary parameters.

• Shadow Economy
• Cash
• East Asia
• Liquidity
• Financial Economics
• banking

• East Asia Institute, Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences, Ludwigshafen, Germany

  Frank Rövekamp

• Faculty of Law / Interdisciplinary Centre for East Asian Studies, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany

  Moritz Bälz

• Research Division Asia, German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), Berlin, Germany

  Hanns Günther Hilpert

Prof. Dr. Frank Rövekamp is a professor for Asian Studies with a focus on Japan and director of the East Asia Institute of the Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences. Formerly he worked for over 15 years in industry and held senior management positions in Germany, Japan and Hong Kong. He obtained his PhD in Business Studies from the University of Cologne. His current research interests include international monetary, currency and trade policy.

Prof. Dr. Moritz Bälz, LL.M. (Harvard) is a professor of Japanese Law and its Cultural Foundations at the Faculty of Law and director of the Interdisciplinary Centre for East Asian Studies (IZO) of Goethe University Frankfurt. Prior to assuming his current position in 2008, he worked for several years as an attorney with the international law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in New York and Frankfurt. His research focuses on Japanese business law from a comparative perspective and dispute resolution in Japan.


Dr. Hanns Günther Hilpert is the Head of the Asia Division at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (“Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik”, SWP), Berlin. Formerly he worked for the German Institute for Japanese Studies (DIJ), Tokyo and the Ifo Institute for Economic Research, Munich. He has written and published several books and articles on the Japanese economy and on Asian trade and economic integration. His current research focuses on various policy-oriented economic issues of East Asia.

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