Address at the Bank of England Twentieth Anniversary Conference London, U.K. September 29, 2017 International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde delivered this address at the Bank of England conference, “Independence—20 Years On” in London, U.K., on September 29, 2017.

In an era defined by rapid technological advancement, the nature of money finds itself at a crossroads, presenting both opportunities and challenges for global financial systems. The rise of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) stands as a testament to this paradigm shift, offering the promise of efficiency, transparency, and financial inclusion. However, amidst the burgeoning interest in CBDCs, a pressing problem emerges: the lack of comprehensive understanding and insight into their development on a global scale. Recognizing this critical gap, Global Developments in Central Bank Digital Currency emerges as a guide for clarity in the complex landscape of monetary evolution. By synthesizing insights from diverse regions and jurisdictions, this book offers a holistic view of CBDC initiatives, unraveling the intricate web of motivations, challenges, and implications. From Africa to Asia, from Europe to Oceania, the book delves into country-specific developments, shedding light on the role of politics, culture, and informal institutions in shaping CBDC adoption.

Published 35 years after Palgrave Macmillan’s landmark International Political Economy (IPE) series was first founded, this Handbook captures the state of the art of contemporary IPE. It draws on the series’ history of focusing on the oft-neglected study of the global South. Providing interdisciplinary perspectives from scholars hailing from the global North and South, the Handbook illustrates the theoretical innovations and empirical richness necessary to explain today’s ever-changing world. This is a world in which the global South and North are not only being transformed by the end of bipolarity and the rise of the BRICS, but also by diverse global crises and growing cross-border challenges. It is a world where human development, governance and security are becoming ever more elusive, where, profoundly altered by the rise of new technologies, the structure of relations between nations itself is changing, becoming increasingly interconnected, both digitally and physically. Understanding these issues is of critical importance to better anticipate current and future global transformations. This Handbook is the ideal primer for all scholars, practitioners and policy makers looking to do so.

The digital transformation of finance and banking enables traditional services to be delivered in a more effective and efficient way but, at the same time, presents crucial issues such as fast-growing new asset classes, new currencies, datafication and data privacy, algorithmization of law and regulation and, last but not least, new models of financial crime. This book approaches the evolution of digital finance from a business perspective and in a holistic way, providing cutting-edge knowledge of how the digital financial system works in its three main domains: banking, insurance and capital markets. It offers a bird’s-eye view of the major issues and developments in these individual sectors. The book begins by examining the wider framework of the subsequent analysis and over the next three parts, discusses the opportunities, risks and challenges facing the digitalization of these individual financial subsectors, highlighting the similarities and differences in their digitalization agenda, as well as the existing linkages and dependencies among them. The book clarifies the strategic issues facing the development of digital finance in these major subsectors over the coming years. The book has three key messages: that digital transformation changes fundamentally the way financial businesses operate; that individual trades have their own digitalization agenda; and that the state with its regulatory power and central banking and money has a particularly important role to play. It will be of interest to scholars, students and researchers of finance andbanking, as well as policymakers wishing to understand the values and limitations of new forms of digital money.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is taking an increasingly important role in our society. From cars, smartphones, airplanes, consumer applications, and even medical equipment, the impact of AI is changing the world around us. The ability of machines to demonstrate advanced cognitive skills in taking decisions, learn and perceive the environment, predict certain behavior, and process written or spoken languages, among other skills, makes this discipline of paramount importance in today's world. Although AI is changing the world for the better in many applications, it also comes with its challenges. This book encompasses many applications as well as new techniques, challenges, and opportunities in this fascinating area.

How the blockchain—a system built on foundations of mutual mistrust—can become trustworthy. The blockchain entered the world on January 3, 2009, introducing an innovative new trust architecture: an environment in which users trust a system—for example, a shared ledger of information—without necessarily trusting any of its components. The cryptocurrency Bitcoin is the most famous implementation of the blockchain, but hundreds of other companies have been founded and billions of dollars invested in similar applications since Bitcoin's launch. Some see the blockchain as offering more opportunities for criminal behavior than benefits to society. In this book, Kevin Werbach shows how a technology resting on foundations of mutual mistrust can become trustworthy. The blockchain, built on open software and decentralized foundations that allow anyone to participate, seems like a threat to any form of regulation. In fact, Werbach argues, law and the blockchain need each other. Blockchain systems that ignore law and governance are likely to fail, or to become outlaw technologies irrelevant to the mainstream economy. That, Werbach cautions, would be a tragic waste of potential. If, however, we recognize the blockchain as a kind of legal technology that shapes behavior in new ways, it can be harnessed to create tremendous business and social value.

This book is the product of a team-teaching course entitled, “Issues in Economic Development” offered to the final-year students of Department of Economics and Finance at Hong Kong Shue Yan University. In this volume, the authors comprehensively survey world’s most controversial issues in economic and political affairs. Topics in this volume cover Christianity-Islam confrontation; ISIS and anti-terrorism; North Korea and Taiwan-Strait Crises; China’s rise as a global power; Brexit; Artificial Intelligence; Bitcoin; same sex marriage; global warming; happiness and well-being. This book can be used as a reader or textbook in courses such as “International Political Economy” and “International Development”, or as a reference for scholars and policy makers.

With new technologies constantly being created, implemented, and sold, it is a robust opportunity for companies to hop on board with the latest digital trends. With the business world undergoing rapid changes and advancements in current times, the transformation process has been rapid and the disruptions significant. This has created a culture of innovation and a plethora of available business opportunities, especially when focused on Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia. Along with these innovative technologies and new opportunities in the business world comes challenges and trends within the Asian region that require more attention and advanced research to fully understand this digital transformation era and the resulting impacts, challenges, and solutions. The Handbook of Research on Disruptive Innovation and Digital Transformation in Asia addresses key topics for understanding business opportunities in Asia, covering a variety of challenges and nations in the Asian region from technological disruption and innovation to connectivity and economic corridors in Asia, Islamic finance and tourism, and more. Due to its innovative topics and approaches, geographical focus, and methodologies, the chapters provide readers with a unique value in bringing new perspectives to understanding emerging businesses and challenges in Asia. This book is ideal for professors in academia, deans, students, politicians, policymakers, corporate heads of firms, senior general managers, managing directors, information technology directors and managers, and researchers.

This book explores the emergence of artificial intelligence blended with financial concepts as a promising new area in business and technology—financial technology, or fintech. The book introduces the very relevant concepts of fintech, its financial derivatives, management information systems, and artificial intelligence and provides tools to find solutions to complex problems in the finance and investment domain. The case studies provide firsthand knowledge of real problems faced by the industry and highlights the thought processes in resolution of complex problems. Topics address the global adoption of fintech, fintech disruptions in the financial sector, the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence to increase the effectiveness of financial trading algorithms, fintech in retail banking and risk management, inbound marketing as well as internal marketing for fintech, fintech in the international education sector, and more. Both business professionals and those in the technical industry will find this book to be of great use. It will be quite helpful for both professionals and students in the fields of finance and artificial intelligence.

A compilation of selected speeches by IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde.