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Money And Time Preference- What Is Monetary Inflation

Anyone who can devise a technique to produce a monetary medium will do so, as history has repeatedly shown. While it's tempting to become involved in this, it's a waste of time since any amount of money will enough for any economy, no matter how large or little. More restraint is needed in order to keep a currency stable as a medium of trade and store of value.

Author:James Pierce
Reviewer:Gordon Dickerson
Mar 11, 2022
21.6K Shares
774.1K Views
Anyone who can devise a technique to produce a monetary medium will do so, as history has repeatedly shown. While it's tempting to become involved in this, it's a waste of time since any amount of money will enough for any economy, no matter how large or little. More restraint is needed in order to keep a currency stable as a medium of trade and store of value and avoid monetary inflation.
Money's functions as a medium of exchange, a store of value, and a unit of account are fully independent of its volume. Money's buying power, not its quantity, is what counts most, and as a result, any amount of money is sufficient to perform monetary duties as long as it can be divided and grouped to meet the transaction and storage demands of holders. As long as the units are divisible, a money supply of any size might fund any number of economic transactions.

The Perfect Money Would Have A Fixed Supply

In such a society, the only non-criminal means of acquiring money would be to make something of value for others and trade it for money. Everyone's material well-being improves as a result of everyone working more and producing more, which in turn helps individuals to amass more capital and boost their productivity.
By restricting others from expanding the money supply, this kind of money might also be used as a store of value, encouraging individuals to put money away and planning for the future. People's time preferences shift as they get more prosperous and productive, allowing them to devote more time to enhancing their spiritual, social, and cultural well-being.

Gold Associated With Sound Money

It's a kind of currency whose supply can never be expanded in any meaningful way because of the unbreakable laws of physics and chemistry. People have tried for millennia to create a kind of money that is more sound than gold without success, hence gold has remained the primary monetary instrument for the majority of human civilizations across time.
A considerable portion of global gold production is still held by governments, who have converted to using government money as a currency and store of value, as well as a means of trade.
A man was airing the balloon with a dollar sign
A man was airing the balloon with a dollar sign

Keynes Criticized Gold Mining As A Wasteful Activity

Despite the fact that his argument has a grain of truth, he overlooks the point that gold's monetary function is a consequence of the fact that it attracts the least people and capital resources toward its mine and prospecting compared to all other metals, which is why it serves as currency.
Mining monetary gold would be less profitable than mining any other metal that assumes a monetary role because the supply of gold can only be increased in very small quantities, even with price spikes, and because gold is very rare and difficult to find. As a result, the least amount of human time and resources would be dedicated to mining monetary gold. A substantial chance for profit exists when society's time preference decreases and more individuals buy the metal for savings, resulting in a rise in the metal's price.

Money Is The Market's Good

The market value of a type of money is defined by people's willingness to keep money and their desire to spend it when new supply is small relative to current supply. Individuals' personal circumstances change throughout time, and these elements will change as a result of these shifts in priorities for each person. They may be somewhat different for society as a whole, however, since money is a market product with the lowest marginal utility in the whole market economy.
The law of declining marginal utility, which states that the marginal benefit of getting more of any good decreases as the quantity increases, is one of the most basic economic laws. As long as it can always be traded for another good, money has a greater utility than anything else since it can always be used to buy something else.

Summary

The only thing that will affect the overall demand for money is individual differences in time preferences. As people's desire for time decreases, the market value of money as opposed to other commodities and services rises, rewarding those who possess it even more. However, if a society has a greater time preference, it will likely to reduce its money holdings, resulting in a somewhat lower market value. This is the fundamental reason people want to keep money in any scenario: it is both safe and beneficial to do so.
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James Pierce

James Pierce

Author
James Pierce, a Finance and Crypto expert, brings over 15 years of experience to his writing. With a Master's degree in Finance from Harvard University, James's insightful articles and research papers have earned him recognition in the industry. His expertise spans financial markets and digital currencies, making him a trusted source for analysis and commentary. James seamlessly integrates his passion for travel into his work, providing readers with a unique perspective on global finance and the digital economy. Outside of writing, James enjoys photography, hiking, and exploring local cuisines during his travels.
Gordon Dickerson

Gordon Dickerson

Reviewer
Gordon Dickerson, a visionary in Crypto, NFT, and Web3, brings over 10 years of expertise in blockchain technology. With a Bachelor's in Computer Science from MIT and a Master's from Stanford, Gordon's strategic leadership has been instrumental in shaping global blockchain adoption. His commitment to inclusivity fosters a diverse ecosystem. In his spare time, Gordon enjoys gourmet cooking, cycling, stargazing as an amateur astronomer, and exploring non-fiction literature. His blend of expertise, credibility, and genuine passion for innovation makes him a trusted authority in decentralized technologies, driving impactful change with a personal touch.
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