Money And Its Functions

The Economics Glossary defines money as:

Money is a good that acts as a medium of exchange in transactions. Classically it is said that money acts as a unit of account, a store of value, and a medium of exchange. Most authors find that the first two are nonessential properties that follow from the third. In fact, other goods are often better than money at being intertemporal stores of value, since most monies degrade in value over time through inflation or the overthrow of governments.

Function Of Money:

Money is any good that is widely accepted in exchange of goods and services, as well as payment of debts. Most people will confuse the definition of money with other things, like income, wealth, and credit. Three functions of money are:

1. Medium of exchange: 

Money can be used for buying and selling goods and services. If there were no money, goods would have to be exchanged through the process of barter (goods would be traded for other goods in transactions arranged on the basis of mutual need). For example: If I raise chickens and want to buy cows, I would have to find a person who is willing to sell his cows for my chickens. Such arrangements are often difficult. But Money eliminates the need of the double coincidence of wants.

2. Unit of account: 

Money is the common standard for measuring relative worth of goods and service

3. Store of value: 

Money is the most liquid asset (Liquidity measures how easily assets can be spent to buy goods and services). Money’s value can be retained over time. It is a convenient way to store wealth.

4.Standard of Deferred Payments:

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Money And Credit

MONEY AND CREDIT

Credit theories of money, also called debt theories of money are concerned with the relationship between credit and money. Proponents of these theories, such as Alfred Mitchell-Innes, will sometimes emphasize that credit and debt are the same thing, seen from different points of view.[1] Proponents assert that the essential nature of money is credit (debt), at least in eras where money is not backed by a commodity such as gold. Two common strands of thought within these theories are the idea that money originated as a unit of account for debt, and the position that money creation involves the simultaneous creation of money and debt. Some proponents of credit theories of money argue that money is best understood as debt even in systems often understood as using commodity money. Others hold that money equates to credit only in a system based on fiat money, where they argue that all forms of money including cash can be considered as forms of credit money.

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