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| − | '''Money''' is defined as something which serves as a means of exchange, a store of value, and a unit of account and represents only an extremely small fraction of the real wealth of any given society or [[country]] where it is used. The [[currency]] which serves as money may be backed by some tangible commodity, such as the [[gold standard]], or may be [[fiat money]], such as [[Federal Reserve]] notes. Alternatively, trade may be carried on using commodity pay, wherein existing commodities are assigned exchange values but not explicitly designated as money.
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| − | ==The Development of Money==
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| − | The earliest discovered forms of money were easily-carried items with some inherent value, such as [[salt]] (used in ancient [[Rome]]) and fishhooks (used by [[American Indians]]). This replaced or supplemented pre-existing [[barter]] systems. Precious metals, such as [[copper]], [[gold]], and [[silver]], have made good coins, being both easily transportable and having inherent value. In 1933, the [[United States]] abandoned the [[gold standard]]<ref>[http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h753.html The Gold Standard]</ref>, switching over to [[fiat currency]], which has no inherent value beyond the government's assurance that it has value.
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| − | ==Money Neutrality and the Money Market==
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| − | Money may be viewed as neutral or non-neutral regarding the real [[economy]]; it is disputed whether changes in the money market cause changes in real markets. The money market itself consists of a money supply (typically fixed for any given period) and a demand function for money. Because the quantity of money is typically exogenously given, the only variable determined in the money market is the price of money.
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| − | ==External links==
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| − | * [http://www.measuringworth.com/ppowerus/ "Purchasing Power of Money in the United States from 1774 to 2008"], translates the value of a dollar in one year to the value today or any year
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| − | ==See also==
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| − | * [[American Economic History]]
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| − | ==References==
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| − | <references/>
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| − | [[Category:Economics]]
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| − | [[category:Finance]]
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