This prescient 1913 report, commissioned by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and written by financier Paul Moritz Warburg, argues that fiscal and monetary policy are the key determinants of a nation's creditworthiness. Warburg calls for a standardized system of fiscal accounting and credit evaluation to ensure financial stability and international economic cooperation. His proposals were influential in the formation of the Federal Reserve System and remain relevant to discussions of global monetary policy.This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.