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Paper money is unfit for a world of high crime and low inflation - FT.com

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rue, it is likely that a significant share – perhaps half – of dollars and euros circulates internationally. Some portion of this is surely abetting illegal activity and tax evasion. (In arresting Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, the Mexican drug lord, two months ago, authorities found a room containing more than $200m, and this was not a first.) Then again, dollars and euros, including large-denomination notes, are also used for legal purposes. Even so, there still appears to be a very large share circulating in domestic underground economies, estimated to be at least 7-8 per cent of gross domestic product for the USand considerably higher for Europe.

From Paper money is unfit for a world of high crime and low inflation - FT.com

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