Modern governments claim a monopoly on the creation of cash, and it is often said to be the source of their economic power. But the state’s grip on the money supply is weaker than it appears. In the UK, banknotes and coins with images of the Queen’s head may be …

With his latest column on the nature of money and credit in the modern monetary system, the FT’s Martin Wolf delves deeper into the dark depths of the ‘what is money’ debate. Anyone who has speculated on the importance and effects of QE over the past five years should probably …