New Books in Economic and Business History Dariusz Wojcik et al., "Atlas of Finance: Mapping the Global Story of Money" (Yale UP, 2024)
Oct 31, 2024
Dariusz Wojcik, a Professor of financial geography at the National University of Singapore, discusses his groundbreaking work, 'Atlas of Finance.' The conversation spans the historical journey of money from ancient times to today's digital currencies and explores how geography impacts finance. Wojcik highlights the book’s innovative visuals that simplify complex concepts and addresses the dominance of U.S. male authors in finance research. The episode also delves into finance's role in climate action and the surprising advancements in central bank digital currencies.
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Visualizing Finance
- Finance is often seen as overly technical, obscuring its relevance to daily life.
- Visualizations can make finance more accessible and understandable.
Shifting Financial Centers
- Canadian finance shifted from Montreal to Toronto during the 20th century.
- Similar shifts happened in other countries like South Africa, Brazil, Australia, and India.
Infrastructure Monopoly
- Infrastructure privatization is presented as a gamble using the Monopoly board game as a visual metaphor.
- This highlights the risks and opportunities of treating infrastructure as financial assets.