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Journal of Financial Intermediation Vol. 18 No. 1 2009

Why pay? An introduction to payments economics

Charles M. Kahn1; William Roberds2

1 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign · 2 Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

Abstract

This paper surveys the growing literature on payments. We begin by presenting a simple model that illustrates the essential function of payments and how this may be implemented through various arrangements. We show how the basic models of payments have been used to address a variety of microeconomic and macroeconomic policy issues. We then discuss the links between payments economics and other fields, including monetary theory, corporate finance, and industrial organization. We conclude with an overview of the empirical literature and directions for future research.

DOI
10.1016/j.jfi.2008.09.001
Volume
18
Issue
1
Pages
1-23
Language
en
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref

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