Money

Money is any marketable good or token used by a society as a store of value, a medium of exchange, and a unit of account. Since the needs arise naturally, societies organically create a money object when none exists. In other cases, a central authority creates a money object; this is more frequently the case in modern societies with paper money.

Money and economics

Money is one of the most central topics studied in economics and forms its most cogent link to finance.

Related Topics:
Economics - Finance

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The amount of money in an economy directly affects inflation and interest rates and hence has profound effects. A monetary crisis can have very significant economic effects, particularly if it leads to monetary failure and the adoption of a much less efficient barter economy. This happened in Russia (for instance) during the 1990s.

Related Topics:
Inflation - Interest rate - Monetary crisis - Monetary failure - Barter

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Modern economics also faces a difficulty in deciding what exactly 'is' money. See money supply.

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There have been many historical arguments regarding the combination of money's functions, some arguing that they need more separation and that a single unit is insufficient to deal with them all. These arguments are covered in financial capital which is a more general and inclusive term for all liquid instruments, whether or not they are a uniformly recognized tender.

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