Money and Banking

Reviewed by Nabila Rahman Biju, Assistant Professor of Economics, Berea College on 11/14/23

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

I really liked the fact that the first few chapters started with very basic ideas which makes it easier for the beginners to start in this field. And I like the think-boxes.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The discussion of moral hazard and the so called 'evil practice' is a good way to introduce students about the financial system's drawbacks. They should realize that this current system is not the best we could do so far. Rather, it the accumulation of historical accidents and there is plenty of room for improvements in this current system. So yes, I think the content was pretty unbiased.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

With all the detailed examples, I found it to be quite relevant. I am teaching Money and Banking class currently, and I can find most of my important topics in this book as well. So, yes, I will say this book is relevant.

Clarity rating: 5

The language of the book is really reader-friendly and as I mentioned before, I felt a non-Econ or non-Business background student also can easily understand.

Consistency rating: 4

The content and topics of each consequent chapters flow well.

Modularity rating: 5

It's already way too divided into sub-topics at least in my opinion. No need to break it down further.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

Although it is not an e-book and only a pdf, still, putting in a list of contents could be done. I strongly recommend to have a list of contents with hyperlinks linking to each chapter as it really helps. Especially when a person is re-reading, its really annoying to keep scrolling.

Interface rating: 2

Would be nice to have hyperlinks.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Good writing

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

I would expect more discussion of other countries also the ancient times. But it's still very relevant.

Comments

I liked it quite a bit. Only adding a list of content is the only thing I would ask for. Thanks!

Reviewed by Ulmaskhon Kalandarova, Instructor, Colorado State University on 1/2/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

Although the book covers majority of concepts in money and banking, but unfortunately it seems that all data is outdated and sometime the fundamental legislative laws like Dodd-Frank act not even mentioned. Also, more discussion of bank regulating system is recommended - it is very brief in chapter-11.
The revised and more comprehensive version of this book is recommended. For example, this book could compare its' contents with Cecetti's Money and Banking book, which is widely used in teaching this course.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

Fundamental concepts seem to be discussed very well, but the demonstration data seems to be a bit loose.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

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Clarity rating: 5

The text is written in clear prose. I did not have any difficulty with its understanding.

Consistency rating: 5

Text is consistent with terminology, however the modern terminology could be also included - like bitcoins, hi tech , mobile banking issues

Modularity rating: 3

Modularity needs to be revised and added more parts for practice, brief summaries, real-life examples.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

Structure is outdated - need to include at least some practice problems and explanation of their solutions for some of them in the text. Also, real life examples section would be a plus. Also, brief summary of chapter's main points could improve this book.

Interface rating: 3

I think the book should be revised due to very outdated display features - it seems very old and comparing for example to Cecetti's book in money and banking - I would not choose this book for teaching - because it does not have many different informative, practice, learn sections as other books have.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I didn't find any grammatical errors in the text.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I would recommend to add more data from developing nations banking system for informative and comparison/analysis purposes. This could give a brief explanation of different factors that effect developing countries banking systems, and their special characteristics.

Reviewed by Peter Mikek, Associate Professor, Wabash College on 12/22/19

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This is a great book for any student that is exposed to questions of money and banking for the first time.The book is certainly comprehensive in covering most of the money and banking topics, reaching a bit into macroeconomics and international finance. The 26 chapters provide overview and numerous examples of standard Money and Banking courses/textbooks and, very likely, include more material than can be thoroughly covered in a semester course. The three chapters devoted totally to banking are complemented with standard coverage of monetary policy and well placed within macroeconomic framework. It is delightful that the focus on banks within financial sector is maintained through most of the text. The text includes a chapter on financial crisis, international finance, and several chapters reviewing and scaffolding a broader context for money and banking. I was puzzled by the fact that I could not locate the chapter of Financial Derivatives. However, I suspect that this was probably some error preparing the online PDF file. While the work is very broad in its scope the text in each sections is super focused and relatively short. While I am a fan of concise textbooks, I found it occasionally too limited (for example there is a chapter with only 6 pages of text that includes several unnecessary excursions into methodology and history).

Content Accuracy rating: 4

Overall, I find the book very accurate and unbiased. In some sense the text strikes me as not completely polished but still great text. The remaining typos are not crucial for understanding and can be easily identified.Let me give you some examples: in an example of a balance sheet ,the author claim that liabilities are "things owNed," they place transaction deposits on one T account among bank's assets, in a scheme of a transmission mechanism they have an arrow turned the wrong way (EMP, net worth down), "nominal rates on risky securities had in fact soared in 1930-1933" should actually talk about the
real rates, etc. Again, these are small remaining errors and a reader will be able to fix them easily as they go. I am convinced that the next iteration of the text will get rid of the remaining typos.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

This is definitely one of the very strong attributes of this interesting text. The examples are definitely up-to-date as it includes examples from the recent financial crises and developments in international finance. But not only that, the author uses rich historical background artfully to place the more recent examples in historical context. This contributes to richer text and better understanding of several provided examples. I believe that the text will need relatively little in terms of updating it.

Clarity rating: 4

This is a fantastically clear presentation of ideas and concepts. The authors use Stop and Think boxes to expand upon the basic ideas with examples, Key Takeaways boxes to reiterate the most important points, Exercise boxes to provide hands-on opportunities. Each section starts with clearly spelled learning objectives. Super concise text leaves the reader with clear message. But maybe the most enjoyable feature of the text is vivacious, playful, and rich language. I am REALLY impressed with the rich vocabulary and engaging, occasionally truly erudite, nicely varied language ("if not insane, at least inane,” “Asymmetric information (that horrible three-headed hound from Hades),” “if you wrap your car around a tree,” etc.). The authors try to engage the average reader also with a number of colloquial expressions that are less to my taste ("those smakers," "kinda funny that," "darn high") but I guess that is just my taste.

Consistency rating: 5

The authors are consistent across the chapters, they use standard field specific vocabulary. I think they score high on this point.

Modularity rating: 5

This is another strong quality of the text. While some parts are absolutely essential in every Money and Banking text, such as time value of money or chapter on banking and one on monetary policy, there are parts that can easily be added or dropped based on preferences of the instructor. Chapters devoted to exchange rates or international monetary arrangements can easily be postponed to later courses. Similarly, students that already had a decent intermediate macroeconomics will not need chapters focused on macro. So, the text both allows for various arrangements of the building blocks in a variety of ways.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The textbook follows a standard order in presentation of the material. Not only the sequencing but also parsing the material into logical units was done with the due care. This is actually essential for good learning success and they did if perfectly. Additionally, I already mentioned that each section has clearly spelled learning objective and Key Takeaways that contribute to transparent structure of the text. Finally, progression from one topic to the next is seamless and easy to follow.

Interface rating: 5

Navigation is easy and clear, the figures, excercises, Stop And Think boxes are clearly marked. The text consistently uses several different colors to indicate parts of the text or to emphasize this or that (such as tables). The interface is not only easy to use, it is also nicely appealing for the reader.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I found no issues with the grammar. Furthermore, I wish to emphasize again that the use charming and vivacious language.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I found the book to follow the usual standards regarding the cultural sensitivity and non-offensive language. Despite the fact that the book is devoted to functioning of a financial system in developed capitalist economy the text includes ample examples from across the globe - in particular in chapters on international finance. German reunification, Chinese high foreign reserves and exchange rate system, Argentine currency crises are just three of numerous examples that cross the cultural and geographical borders with ease and clarity.

Comments

This is an absolutely delightful text that uses fresh, clear, and playful language in the field that can be perceived as rather dry. The book will be best suited for beginners with first encounters with money and banking. For others, a skillful instructor can easy point out on what they should focus (and where are few remaining typos). The text is comprehensive and set in a way that will serve broad set of instructor's preferences; from those that wish to focus on international finance to those that wish to include some review of macroeconomics. One of the best attributes of the book is the fact that the author never loses its focus on banks and/or monetary policy.
Overall, I find the text great.

Reviewed by Partha Gangopadhyay, Professor, St. Cloud State University on 6/10/19

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The text provides a comprehensive coverage of Money and Banking topics. If anything, there is too much material in the book's 26 chapters for one course. Most colleges do not have more than one Money and Banking course. The book has enough material for at least two such courses. I did not see an index or a glossary of terms.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I have not detected any error in the text. I checked out some of the hyperlinks to outside resources. The links seem to work just fine. I would like to see the sources of the tables and figures listed below the tables/figures in the book.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 2

The text needs to be revised and updated. The tables and figures in the book provide information up to 2007-2008. This applies to many of the tables/figures in chapters 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, and 21. There is a brief discussion of banking regulation in chapter 11. However, I did not see even a mention of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999, or the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010, or the Basle 111 capital requirements. The discussion in the books seems to end with the Riegle-Neal Act of 1995, and the Basle 11 requirements. Also, the suggested readings at the end of the chapters need to include more current articles and other resources. The fundamental concepts of money and banking have not materially changed over time. The book does a good job of explaining these concepts. However, the banking laws and data and statistics have changed over time. These need to be updated. The book was written in 2012. It is time for a newer edition. The updates can be easily implemented.

Clarity rating: 5

The book is written in clear and concise language. Beginning students should not have any difficulty in reading and understanding the concepts. Students will also be able to personally relate to many of the examples and anecdotes that are spread throughout the book.

Consistency rating: 5

The writing style is consistent throughout the book. I also like the consistent layout of the chapters. Each chapter and section begin with a set of learning objectives, and ends with 'Key Takeaways', and a list of suggested readings. I also like the 'Stop and Think' boxes in each chapter.

Modularity rating: 5

I may be able to cover 10 or 11 chapters from the book in a sixteen-week semester. As I mentioned elsewhere, there is enough material in the book for at least two 'Money and Banking' courses. It will be easy to pick 10-12 chapters from the book to cover in a 'Money and Banking' class. The text is not overly self-referential, and most chapters can stand on their own. The text can be easily divided into smaller sub-units that can be incorporated in different courses.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The text and the individual chapters are logically organized. The order of the chapters is clear, and the concepts are presented in a coherent and logical manner.

Interface rating: 4

I did not detect any issues with interface. I suggest numbering the equations in chapters 4-7, 9, 14, 15, 17, 18, 20, and 21. Also, the sources of the various tables/figures should be listed below the tables or figures. Several exercises are included in chapters 4-7, 9, 15, 17, 18, and 21. I am assuming that the solutions to these exercises will be made available to the instructors in supplementary materials in the book's website. However, I suggest that the answers to at least some of these exercises should be provided in an Appendix at the end of the book. It will also be helpful if a section of conceptual questions and/or numerical exercises is added at the end of each chapter. I also suggest adding a section in chapter 4 (and in other chapters) showing how to calculate the time value of money (and bond prices) using a financial calculator.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I have not seen any grammatical errors in the book.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I did not notice any cultural insensitivity in the book.

Comments

The book is comprehensive in the coverage of Money and Banking topics. However, the book is very outdated. A new edition of the book with up-to-date discussion of the banking regulatory framework, and well as current data and statistics is needed at this point. The concepts are easy to understand, and the book is well-written.

Reviewed by Laura Carolevschi, Assistant Professor, Winona State University on 6/20/17

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

In its 26 chapters, the textbook covers a wide array of money and banking topics, as well as macroeconomics topics with monetary policy applications. The treatment of the subjects is clear, easy to follow and relevant with applied examples. No index or glossary was provided with the version that was reviewed.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The content is accurate, error-free and unbiased, at least in the sections I chose to review.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The theories discussed in the textbook are up-to-date, and will stand the test of time for a while. However, some of the data will need to be updated. I'm reviewing this book in 2017, and many of the graphs have data until 2007-2008.

Clarity rating: 5

The author uses a story-telling format that is easy to read and accessible to both beginners and advanced learners. The book has many examples that students might be able to relate to due to personal experience.

Consistency rating: 5

All chapters are using the same format. The terminology and concepts are used consistently throughout the text.

Modularity rating: 5

While the textbook covers a variety of topics, it is easily divisible into smaller sections. Each chapter is divided into several topics, and each sub-chapter is clearly organized around a single topic, while still easily integrating within the larger subject matter of each chapter. During a regular semester I am usually unable to cover an entire textbook, and I select some chapters to cover first, with a couple of chapters as "maybe", if we still have time at the end of the semester. This textbook can be easily organized in such a way.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The topics in the text are presented in a logical and clear fashion. The organization/structure/flow are consistent throughout the text. All chapters are organized in the same format, making the text easy to read and follow.

Interface rating: 5

The text is free of any interface issues. Most images/tables/graphs were clear and easy to read. However, I encountered a couple of images that were unclear - on page 258, I could only read the names of the countries, but not the text in each box even after zooming in; the table on page 304 seems to not be visible in its entirety. Another thing that would make the book easier to navigate would be a table of contents with hyperlinks to each chapter. The .pdf version that I'm reviewing does not have it.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I could not find any grammar errors. (However, I found some typos - in a few instances, it seems that the space between the words is missing, likethis.)

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The treatments of topics in this textbook is respectful of different cultures.

Comments

The book provides a comprehensive yet approachable coverage of several monetary policy issues. The format of the book make it versatile to several uses - as a standalone text in money and banking classes, or as supplementary reading in introductory or intermediary macroeconomics classes.

Reviewed by Wendy Usrey, Faculty Instructor, Colorado State University on 12/5/16

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This book is fantastic in terms of the breadth of finance, money and banking topics. I have found that most money and banking texts have some of the topics I want to cover in my classes, but I have seen very few that contain all of the material I am looking for in one, easily digestible textbook. With 26 chapters covering everything from how money and banking applies to our everyday lives, to the theory of rational expectations and its implications for monetary policy, this book is so comprehensive I can easily see myself using it in several different finance classes as well as in various economics courses.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

I have not seen any errors in terms of content or examples/problems in the text. However, some of the hyperlinks to outside resources are no longer working.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 2

1. I was very excited to see all of the hyperlinks to external content (new stories, other texts, etc), but as mentioned above, quite a few of the hyperlinks are no longer working. Depending on the link this could be a relatively easy fix, but some of these sources may no longer exist and may need to be removed. While not particularly difficult, if the text refers to the content referenced by the link, portions of the text will need to be rewritten if the links are removed. I also noted a few places where the text is already in need of some updating, for example, the book does a good job of explaining the 2007-2008 Financial Crisis, along with concepts such as the “Lender of Last Resort” and monetary policy, but does not contain any discussion on quantitative easing. This was a very critical and important (as well as controversial) component of the Federal Reserve's response the Financial Crisis, so it should have been included in the text or added in an update.

Clarity rating: 5

Overall the text is written in a very accessible manner without sacrificing academic rigor. Concepts are explained fully but in such a way that students from a variety of backgrounds should be able to understand the content. As another reviewer mentioned, a glossary or index at the end of the text would be very useful for helping to navigate the text and find definitions of key terms quickly.

Consistency rating: 5

Terminology, writing style and framework remain consistent throughout the text.

Modularity rating: 5

Despite the amount of material, this text is very well organized. The content is broken up into manageable chunks with very clear learning objectives stated at the beginning and key takeaways at the end of each section. This format makes a big difference in terms of helping the reader stay oriented so they do not get lost in the world of financial jargon and concepts. I particularly liked how each chapter was organized with so many additional resources and references. I particularly like the clear chapter objectives, followed by learning objectives for each sub-section. The "suggested reading" at the end of each chapter, as well as the "stop and think" boxes make the text very approachable for students and give the instructor a lot of great ideas for incorporating outside content and examples into the class.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The order in which the topics are presented is also very good with progression between concepts fluid and intuitive, but hyperlinks referring to other parts of the text make it very easy for an instructor to teach the topics in an order that suits their individual class structure without the worry of having students end up "lost in the text."

Interface rating: 4

The interface of the book is very easy to navigate. Content displays as expected and does not seem to be affected by the format (I reviewed both the web interface as well as the downloaded PDF version). One thing that would make navigation easier would be to add hyperlinks from the table of contents to the chapters in the downloadable PDF version. This feature is available when viewing on the web, but did not appear as an option once I downloaded the PDF.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammar or spelling errors were found during my review.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

As expected from an academic text, there are no insensitive or offensive references in the text. Additionally, the information is easy to understand regardless of cultural background and can easily be used in diverse classes with little to no adaptation.

Comments

Overall I think this is a solid, well written text that contains a lot of relevant and useful information. The world of finance can be intimidating and the author does a wonderful job of helping make the subject matter approachable and interesting, particularly with the use of humor and clever chapter titles. I intend to use this text in several of my own classes that range from introductory up to intermediate level classes.

Reviewed by Mahmoud Al-Odeh, Assistant Professor, Bemidji State University on 6/10/15

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This is a good textbook that covers a wide range of topics in the economic analysis theory and application. The book consists of 24 chapters that cover current topics related such as Interest Rates, Inflation, Rate of Return, Future and Current Value of Money, Money Supply Process, Monetary Policy Tools and Foreign Exchange. The book also disscussed Balance Sheet and a T-account and provided strategies for Bank Management. The chapters include a good examples to be used in the classroom to explain the topic. The exercises at the end of each topic are extremely helpful and can be used as homework assignments.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I have reviewed several examples given in the book and I found that the book is accurate and contains no errors.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The content and the topics in the book is very good for introductory and intermediate economy classes. The examples provided are current and up-to-date. As any textbook, it is recommended changing and updating the content at least once every five years to include more relevant examples and case studies.

Clarity rating: 5

The book is written in a way that students can easily understand the content without difficulties. I also like the funny style (e.g. “grandma, bless her soul,” examples) and the creativity in writing the exercises. This creativity in writing will keep students more engaged with the book content. The examples are clear and short to the point.

Consistency rating: 5

The textbook is consistent in terminology and framework. The terms use in each chapter are consistent across the chapters. It is recommended to include a section (e.g. appendix) for key terms & definitions.

Modularity rating: 5

The chapters are organized and divided into subsections/subtopics with objectives that support the overall chapters’ objectives. These objectives that are listed at the beginning of each topic are very helpful to assess students’ knowledge. The examples provided in each chapter can be used by instructors to explain the topic in each chapter and to measure the achievements of specific objectives. Some of the features that I like in this textbook are: “key takeaways” sections summarize important points in the topic/chapter; “Suggested Reading” sections provide resources and links to be used for more information; “Stop and Think Box” sections provide discussion topics that make students think about the big picture of the chapter; and “exercises” sections can be used to assess students’ knowledge regarding specific chapter/topic objectives.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Excellent. The logical organization of the chapters made the topics presented more appealing and interesting to students. The book organized using components such as: topics objectives, explanations, examples, key takeaways, Stop and Think Box, and exercises. All these components made the structure of the book easy to follow.

Interface rating: 3

Very good. I found no issues. For future improvements, it would be helpful if special techniques or applications used for writing equations. For example, the equation on page 63 “FV = PV(1 + i) n” it should be PV = FV/(1 + i) ^ n as it is summarized in “key takeaways” on page 66. Also, it is recommended separating the examples giving from the discussion or the explanation. It could be the explanation and discussion first and then section with “example X.X” heading to show an example.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammar issues found.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The text is not culturally insensitive or offensive in any way. The examples and topics provided are applicable in any country and for any cultural environment.

Comments

This is a good textbook that covers theory and application of the economic analysis. The book structure and the writing style made the topics easy to understand by students. It is highly recommended to be used for introductory and intermediate economy classes. The examples and exercises provided are excellent to be used as in-class activities and homework assignments.