From Ricardo to Renminbi: how China blends public money and decentralized banking
Abstract
Embracing the three-legged stool of economics research (theory, history, and econometrics), we attest to China’s unparalleled economic rise as a function of the system of decentralized public banks. Our analysis of Chinese banking history since the dawn of the post-Mao reforms reveals that local policymakers desegregate inharmonious policy recommendations by Currency (ie public ownership of the money supply) and Banking School (ie decentralized money creation) prophets, stamping the institutionalization of a social democracy with Chinese characteristics. These empirical findings support our theoretical and historical narrations.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Economic and Business Studies
China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance
Sustainable Finance and Green Bonds
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Cogent Economics & Finance
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Volume
- 14
- Issue
- 1
- Publication date
- 21 April 2026
- Language
- EN