The Price of Time: The Real Story of Interest

Edward Chancellor

Aug 2022 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Luis Soto

About this audiobook

In the beginning was the loan, and the loan carried interest. For at least five millennia people have been borrowing and lending at interest. Yet as capitalism became established from the late Middle Ages onwards, denunciations of interest were tempered because interest was a necessary reward for lenders to part with their capital. And interest performs many other vital functions: it encourages people to save; enables them to place a value on precious assets, such as houses and all manner of financial securities; and allows us to price risk. Interest is often described as the "price of money," but it is better called the "price of time:" time is scarce, time has value, interest is the time value of money. Over the first two decades of the twenty-first century, interest rates have sunk lower than ever before. Easy money after the global financial crisis in 2007/2008 has produced several ill effects, including the appearance of multiple asset price bubbles, a reduction in productivity growth, discouraging savings and exacerbating inequality, and forcing yield starved investors to take on excessive risk. In this enriching volume, Chancellor explores the history of interest and its essential function in determining how capital is allocated and priced. Bonus material: This audiobook includes supplemental material in printable PDF format.

About the author

Edward Chancellor is a financial historian, journalist, and investment strategist. He is a former deputy US editor for Breakingviews.com, a columnist for Financial Times, and has written for numerous other publications.

Luis Soto is an actor, known for An Education, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, and MediEvil.