A Nobel Prize-winning economist has urged the US to get rid of cash and change over to a digital economy.

On 8 November, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced demonetisation of 86 per cent of India’s currency in one go. Columbia University professor, Joseph Stiglitz, recommended to the US to follow suit to rein in tax evasion and corruption through demonetisation.

Eliminating currency in the long run has “benefits that outweigh the cost”, he said at the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos.