George C. Georgiou


George C. GeorgiouGeorge C. Georgiou, a Fulbright Scholar, is a Professor of Economics at Towson University. Dr. Georgiou holds a B.A. in Economics from Drew University and a MPh in Economics and a PhD in Economics from The George Washington University. Dr. Georgiou has written widely in the areas of Energy Economics, International Trade and Investment, and the Economics of Education in such publications as: The World Economy, Journal of Economic Development, Energy Policy, Mediterranean Quarterly, Atlantic Economic Journal, Journal of International Economic Integration, Integracion Latinoamericana, International Advances in Economic Research, Journal of Business and Economic Studies, Journal of Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, International Business & Economics Research Journal, International Journal of Education Research, International Finance and Banking, Etudes Helleniques/Helenic Studies, and World Policy Journal. Dr. Georgiou has presented papers at professional conferences such as: the American Economic Association, Western Economic Association, Eastern Economic Association, International Atlantic Economic Association, International Business Education & Technology Association, International Applied Business and Research Association, International Academy of Business and Public Administration Disciplines, and the National Council on Economic Education. Dr. Georgiou has held teaching positions at: Towson University, The George Washington University, The National Defense University, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, University of Maryland University College, Marymount University of Virginia, and the University of Baltimore.




Papers Published in World Economics:


Cryptocurrency Challenges Sovereign Currency

All national and international monetary structures have evolved to assist in the creation and management of sovereign fiat currencies. This sovereign currency status quo was suddenly upended with the arrival of the first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, in 2008 which introduced a peer-to-peer digital fiat currency without the need of a central banking system, through a trustless, fungible and tamper-resistant distributed accounting system known as blockchain. The response to the threat posed by cryptocurrency has ranged from declaring it illegal, attempting to regulate it, ignoring it, treating it as a commodity and/or like any other financial asset and regulating it as such; or more recently seriously considering state-backed digital currency. Presently the assessment appears to be that of ‘co-existence’ with central banks providing national/sovereign currency, primarily digital currency, and cryptocurrency vying with gold as a back-up or ‘insurance’ against the perils of a sovereign fiat currency.

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Beyond the Shadow Economy

Money laundering is illegal world-wide and constitutes a significant economic inefficiency. Current anti-money laundering and combating the financing (AML/CFT) efforts are primarily driven by the threat of terrorism and drug-trafficking, but the majority of illicit money flows is due to fraud. This paper assesses the costs and benefits of controls on the efficiency of the financial system in modern advanced economies and the less developed economies of the world. The significant costs imposed on financial institutions, increasing levels of regulation and the minuscule illicit money flows intercepted has resulted in moral hazard and significant conflicts of interest.

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