The functions of money in the economy include. Money - essence, functions and types

For the convenience of studying the material, the article of the function of money is divided into topics:

In relation to the essence of money in the economic literature, there are the following approaches:

Pragmatic;
the concept of representative value;
the concept of intrinsic value of non-metal money.

Proponents of the pragmatic approach believe that since money is an exclusive commodity that measures the value of all goods, and is carried out in this money, this proves that it serves as a real measure of the value of goods.

According to the concept of representative value, money represents the total value of all commodities circulating on the market (the value of labor expended on the production of these commodities). The monetary unit is the bearer of a completely definite quantity of the value of a commodity. This is achieved by comparing the mass of commodities and the money supply.

The value of the monetary unit \u003d Value of the commodity mass \ Money supply

However, in this case, money first acquires its value, and only then can it play the role of a universal equivalent. However, essential characteristics cannot be acquired or derived.

According to the latter concept, money is the owner of its own value.

The value of money is formed in 2 stages:

The basis of value is the labor expended in the production of money, as well as the labor in organizing their circulation. This value finds its expression in money.
market value is transformed into exchange value, on the basis of which money acts as a universal equivalent.

This approach, however, does not explain why banknotes of different denominations, having approximately the same characteristics, have different exchange values.

In modern economic theory There is no unambiguous approach to the question of the functions of money.

According to the most common approach in the economic literature, money performs 5 functions:

Measure of value;
medium of exchange;
means of accumulation;
instrument of payment;
world money.

In such a sequence, the functions are derived by K. Marx, in his opinion, such a sequence of money functions reflects their occurrence.

Measure of value. Money as a universal equivalent measures the value of all goods. However, it is not money that makes commodities commensurate, but the socially necessary labor expended on the production of commodities creates the conditions for their equalization.

The form of manifestation of the value of goods is the price. Price is the value of a product expressed in terms of money.

The function of the measure of the value of money changes with the change in the forms of money that act as a measure of value.

During the period of functioning of full-fledged money, the value of goods correlated with the value of money through the ratio social labor spent on their production. This was possible due to the fact that the money had independent cost- the cost of silver and gold contained in them.

During the period of functioning of paper money, which are representatives of full value, the cost of goods was also correlated with the cost of gold and silver, since the monetary unit was equated to a strictly defined weight of gold, accepted in the country as a monetary unit. For example, in the United States, 1.50463 g of pure gold was accepted per dollar in 1900.

With the circulation of fiat credit money, the mechanism of action of the function of the measure of value changes. Goods receive public recognition not so much through money, but directly in the production process. Because they contain work time already in the process of production begins to act as socially necessary. The price of a commodity finds its confirmation directly in other commodities, through the ratio of necessary labor time. Therefore, the price is a form of manifestation of the exchange relation this product to all other commodities, and money is only its reflection. Money acts as a tool to facilitate exchange. This can be confirmed by the following example. If money does not fulfill the function of a measure of value and 500 goods are produced in the country, then there is a need to compare the proportions of the exchange of each commodity for each other. Such proportions will be 12497500 pieces.

Recourse tool. Commodity circulation consists of 2 operations: the sale of one commodity and the purchase of another. In this process, money plays the role of an intermediary in the exchange of both goods: C - M - C.

Thus, money allows you to get away from the direct exchange of goods for goods (barter) C - C and overcome the individual, temporal and spatial boundaries characteristic of the latter and limiting commodity circulation.

The only condition for money to fulfill this function is the desire of people to use money as a means of payment for goods and services. History gives many examples when money did not fulfill this function. Examples might be unsuccessful attempts The United States use in circulation 2 $ bills, which were issued in 1970, and 1 $ coin, issued in 1979.

The degree to which money performs the functions of a measure of value and a means of circulation is determined by the stability of the country's unified measurement of the value of goods. In conditions of high inflation, there is a separation of the functions of a measure of value and a means of circulation between various monetary units. Transactions are made in one monetary unit, and the settlement is made in another. Examples are the experience of China (1939-1949), Israel (70s of the 20th century), Russia (1991-1995), when the US dollar was the measure of value, and circulation was carried out using the national currency.

means of accumulation. This function has evolved along with the evolution of money. During the period of functioning of valuable money, gold and silver served as a form of treasure formation, since gold and silver represented the universal embodiment of wealth. Treasures always have real value. The formation of treasures led to the withdrawal of money from monetary circulation.

With the cessation of the exchange of banknotes for gold and its withdrawal from money circulation, credit money becomes a means of accumulation and savings. Unlike full-fledged ones, they are not a treasure, and if they are withdrawn from circulation, then they turn from real money into paper symbols that have no real value. The accumulation of credit money requires their conversion into money capital. This is facilitated by the expansion and concentration of banking.

IN modern conditions along with the monetary form of accumulation, there are many other, more profitable forms of accumulation (securities, real estate, antiques, etc.). However, cash accumulation is the main form due to its. Money as an instrument of accumulation has absolute liquidity.

Instrument of payment. This function arose in connection with the development of credit relations.

In this function, money is used for:

Sale of goods on credit;
payment to workers and employees;
making payments to the budget.

When money functions as a means of payment, there is no counter-movement of money and goods. It is either missing or broken in time. The function of money as a means of payment can be represented in the following form:

T - O - time gap - O - D, where
T - goods;
O - monetary obligation;
D is money.

World money. This function arises as a result of the international division of labor and the world market. the Paris Agreement of 1867. 995 gold was recognized as the only form of world money. In modern conditions, world money is the currencies of the leading countries of the world.

There are other approaches to defining the functions of money.

So, in foreign economic literature, 3 functions of money are most often distinguished:

Measure of value (unit of account);
means of circulation (means of payment);
means of accumulation (store of value).

Money kinds of function

The emergence of money circulation

Money arose spontaneously in the process of the development of commodity circulation, when a surplus of goods arose. Initially, the volume of goods produced was relatively small and the exchange of goods between the tribes was of a random nature (all goods produced were consumed) and carried out in kind. Gradually, the volume of production increased, and surpluses of goods began to appear. The exchange began to have a permanent, massive character. There was a need for a special means of circulation, with the help of which it was possible to quickly and at minimal cost exchange one commodity for another. Money became such a medium of circulation (The first function of money is money as a medium of circulation).

The main property of money is absolute liquidity.

Liquidity is a measure of how quickly an asset can be exchanged for cash.

The monetary system cannot exist without money. It covers all monetary relations that develop in a particular society.

There are three subsystems in the system of monetary relations:

functional;
- economic;
- in the shape of .

Functional subsystem

Money is a means of expressing the value of commodity resources currently participating in the economic life of society, a universal embodiment of value in forms corresponding to a given level of commodity relations. Such a definition is built on the concept of value, which is more in line with the approach to money accepted in world science.

In another definition, money is an absolutely liquid medium of exchange that has two properties:

Exchangeable for any other product;
- measures the cost of any other good (this function is expressed in price and in terms of these prices).

The essence of money is revealed in five functions:

Measures of value
- Means of circulation
- Means of payment
- Means of savings and savings
- World money

The measure of value is formed when the price is formed; it determines the value of the goods, which is measured in money (ie, equating goods to each other). In this way a quantitative measurement is obtained.

The monetary measurement of value is the price. It depends on several conditions:

production conditions;
- terms of exchange.

In order for prices to be comparable, they must be brought to a single scale.

A price scale is the weight content of gold or silver fixed as a unit of measure.

As a measure of value, money can act as a count, appearing in the form of numerical values. Accounting money is used to express prices, accounting and analysis, maintaining accounts of participants in economic life.

Means of circulation. The monetary expression of the value of goods does not yet mean its realization. There must be an exchange. Money - intermediaries in the exchange from the beginning of the transaction (T - D) to its completion (D - T). During the period of the predominance of trade, money mainly acted as a medium of exchange; after the emergence of credit and the development of the economy, the function of a means of payment comes to the fore, which includes the function of a medium of circulation and is transformed into a function of a means of payment. This is facilitated by the use of plastic cards and other electronic payment instruments that allow paying by transfer from a bank account, as well as making wholesale and retail purchases.

Means of payment - the time of payment does not coincide with the time of payment, goods are sold on credit, with a deferred payment (T - O and O - D).

Means of accumulation - cash reserve (account balances, gold and foreign exchange reserves). Money, which performs the function of accumulation, participates in the process of formation, distribution, redistribution of the national income, and the formation of the population's savings.

World money is used in international settlements

In a modern developed economy, there are three functions of money - a measure of value, a means of accumulation and a means of payment, and the medium of circulation remains very small.

Economic subsystem -> :

Distribution of money in the country;
- formation of the budget in the country.

Credit subsystem:

Regulates internal and external debt;
- forms loan capital;
- associated with handling valuable papers;
- associated with international credit and currency relations.

Issuing money to cover the deficit is not currently used federal budget. But if there is a federal budget deficit, the government must find sources to cover it. Until 1995, the Russian Federation used a source of coverage that was not typical for - government loans from the Central Bank. This leads to additional inflation, as additional money is issued into the economy that is not backed by goods.

The use of market mechanisms provides sources for covering the deficit and provides for:

Modern monetary scales are completely conditional, they serve to keep accounts and are based on universal recognition, regulated not by economic, but by legal laws.

When paper and credit money circulate, the principle of using them as a measure of value changes. It depends, firstly, on liquidity, the potential value of goods that can be bought with banknotes of value, and secondly, on paper and credit money. The price of one commodity does not correlate with the value of gold, but with the total mass of commodities.

Money serves as a standard of price the better the longer it retains its function unchanged. This is the most important task organization of the monetary system of any country.

In modern market economy money as a measure of value is used primarily to measure and compare the value of goods and services. Evaluation of goods through their value state occurs with the help of mentally represented ideal money, i.e. money performs the function of a measure - by determining the price.

However, it is not money that makes commodities commensurate, but the socially necessary labor expended on the production of commodities creates the conditions for their equalization. All commodities are socially necessary products, therefore real money (silver and gold), which has value, can become a measure of their value. At the same time, the measurement of the value of goods in money occurs ideally, i.e. the commodity owner does not have to have cash. The value of a commodity expressed in money is called the price. It is determined by society necessary costs labor for its production and distribution. Prices and their movements are based on the law of value. The price of a commodity is formed on the market, and if supply and demand for goods are equal, it depends on the value of the commodity and the value of money. In the functioning of real money, the prices of commodities are directly proportional to the value of these commodities and inversely proportional to the value of money. Due to the discrepancy between supply and demand in the market, the price of a commodity inevitably deviates from its value.

Under the gold standard, prices depended on the value of the commodity, since the value of money (gold) was relatively constant. Under the paper-money and banknote systems, the prices of commodities are expressed in units of value that do not have their own value, so they cannot accurately reflect the value of commodities. This implies differences in the prices of the same goods, which makes it difficult for the commodity producer to make the right decisions about the production of goods.

Price Scale

Quantification of the value of goods in money, i.e. the price of a commodity provides the possibility of comparing not only the products of social labor, but also parts of the same monetary commodity - silver or gold. To compare the prices of goods of different value, it is necessary to reduce them to the same scale, i.e. express them in the same currency.

The scale of prices in metallic circulation is the weighted amount of money metal, accepted in a given country as a monetary unit and serving as the day for measuring the prices of all other commodities. Money as a measure of value relates to all other commodities, arises spontaneously, changes depending on the amount of social labor expended on the production of a monetary commodity. Money, as the scale of pennies, is established by the state and acts as a fixed amount of metal by weight, which changes with the value of this metal. Initially, the weight content of the monetary unit coincided with the scale of prices. So, the English pound sterling in the past really weighed a pound of silver. It was the scale of prices that made such an operation as weighing money unnecessary. In the modern monetary system, the scale of prices is the main component of the function of the measure of value.

Under gold circulation, the scale of prices implied the establishment of a monetary unit equal to a certain amount of gold. In the XX century. there is a decrease in the purchasing power of money, which was reflected in a decrease in the amount of gold in the monetary unit. The Jamaican currency system, introduced in 1976-1978, abolished the official price of gold and the gold content of the units of the IMF member countries. Today, the official price scale is formed spontaneously in the process of market exchange by comparing the value of goods through price. In Russia, also since 1992, the official ratio of the ruble and gold has not been provided. Gold has lost the function of money, ousted from internal and external circulation by fiat credit money.

Valuable money - commodity money, gold and silver coins of the era of bimetallism - the commodity from which they are made has the same value both in the sphere of circulation as money and in the sphere of accumulation as a treasure. They contain precious metal in an amount corresponding to their face value. The value of gold in the form of money exceeded its value in other forms. Therefore, silver money disappeared from circulation.

Defective money is paper and credit money, the purchasing power of which exceeds the intrinsic value. Purchasing power is determined solely by market conditions, while intrinsic value has no effect on it.

Each state has a national currency. Some of the freely convertible currencies actually fulfill this function at the international level. In countries with high level inflation is often preferred to use as a measure of value not national, but foreign currency. This practice is also widespread in Russia, when many goods and services, along with the ruble valuation, have been priced in dollars.

There are two forms of limiting the functioning of money as a measure of value: barter trading and coupon trading. Barter trade, or the direct exchange of one commodity for another, although it occurs in modern world, but under normal conditions has limited use. Only during periods of social upheaval does the role of barter increase, but as relations normalize, it again occupies a subordinate place.

Trading with coupons or special coupons is an attempt to ration the consumption of certain goods and services. As a rule, this is caused either by a shortage of goods, or by a targeted policy of manufacturers (or trading organizations) but the formation of consumer demand. In both cases, coupons are issued that allow you to purchase certain goods. The purpose of their release is either to limit the consumption of scarce goods, or, conversely, to stimulate the consumption of those goods that are in excess.

Rationing products means that a product (or service) can only be bought if there is a coupon or special coupon. In a market economy, such a restriction on freedom of choice is easily overcome: some coupons begin to be exchanged for others. Barter (without the mediation of money) exchange is gradually being replaced by commodity-money relations. Coupons are purchased for money. In this case, the total cost of the item will be equal to its advertised price plus the value of the coupon. In some cases, coupons are introduced not to limit the purchase separate species goods, but to limit the money supply in general. In this case, wages will be issued for a certain amount in coupons. Overcoming the local boundaries of coupon circulation in this case is possible by exchanging it for hard currency or goods with high liquidity, i.e. the ability to turn into real money.

Another form of consumption rationing is American coupons. They do not restrict the freedom of choice by administrative methods, but create an interest among buyers in purchasing certain goods by providing a discount from officially announced prices.

They are of several types:

Coupons for certain types of goods for purchases only in the store where they are issued within a certain time;
coupons mandatory for all businesses retail, and with discounts on new products or on those products in which the manufacturing company is interested;
coupons for the purchase of goods of a similar type within a certain period.

Coupon trading does not abolish money as a measure of value or medium of exchange, but only corrects the links that exist between buyers and sellers.

Function of world money

It arose in pre-capitalist formations, but was fully developed with the creation of the world market. In this market, money is thrown off by national uniforms, i.e. act in the form of gold bars (995 samples). The Paris Agreement of 1867 recognized gold as the only form of world money.

World money has a triple purpose and serves as: a universal means of payment; universal purchasing power; materialization of social wealth. Money acts as an international means of payment in settlements on international balances, mainly on the balance of payments. As an international means of purchase, money is used in the direct purchase of goods abroad and payment for them in cash (for example, in the event of a crop failure, the purchase of grain, sugar and other food products). As a materialization of social wealth, money is a means of transferring national wealth from one country to another in the collection of indemnities, reparations or loans.

During the period of the gold standard, the practice of final balancing of the balance of payments with the help of gold prevailed, although in international circulation mainly credit instruments of circulation were used.

In the XX century. the intensification of world relations expanded the introduction of credit instruments of circulation into international circulation (bill, check, etc.). In 1930 in Geneva was signed international convention on bills of exchange and promissory notes, and in 1931 - the International Convention Governing the Issuance, Circulation and Payment of Checks.

However, the peculiarity of the use of bills and checks in international circulation is that they do not play the role of the final means of payment, like gold. Therefore, the exclusion of the yellow metal from international circulation, when the spontaneous mechanism of regulation ceased to operate exchange rates- the mechanism of "gold dots", led to strong fluctuations in exchange rates. Since there was no world banknote, the place of gold was taken by non-economic coercion by the leading national banknotes, mainly the British pound sterling and the US dollar. For this purpose, international agreements, currency blocks and currency clearings were used.

The first international agreement was signed in Genoa in 1922, when the pound sterling and the US dollar were declared equivalent to gold and introduced into international circulation. The second agreement was concluded in 1944 in Bretton Woods (USA). It laid the foundations for the post-war monetary system of capitalism.

The US dollar exchanged for gold at the official price (35 dollars per troy ounce - 31.1 g) was recognized as the basis for the currency parities of other national units. However, the weak spot in the fulfillment by the dollar and the pound sterling of the function of world money was the contradiction between the international nature of currency relations and the national nature of credit money.

The dictatorship of the leading national currencies in international circulation also manifested itself in the creation of currency blocs. The sterling block was created after the abolition of the gold standard in England in 1931. It included the countries of the British Empire (except for the dominions of Canada and New Foundland, as well as Hong Kong), states closely connected with Great Britain (Egypt, Iraq, Portugal).

The basis of the currency bloc was the maintenance by its member countries of a firm exchange rate against the currency of the hegemonic country; all settlements were proposed to be made in this currency, which was kept in the Bank of England. The Dollar Block, created in 1933 after the abolition of the gold standard in the United States (USA, Canada, countries Latin America), as well as the Golden Bloc, led by France.

During and after the Second World War, on the basis of currency blocs, currency zones arose - sterling, dollar. In addition, the franc zone emerged on the basis of the Golden Block, and the zones of the Dutch guilder, Portuguese escudo, Italian lira and Spanish peseta also appeared.

Currency clearings are settlements between countries based on the offset of mutual claims with payment in cash. Currency clearing houses were created during the years of the world economic crisis 1929-1933 and then became widespread in the form of bilateral and multilateral clearings (European Payments Union from 1950 to 1958), the emergence of which was caused by the aggravation of the problem of international liquidity, or the ability of countries to pay their external obligations.

As a result, 60% of international settlements were carried out through currency clearing, which by the end of the 60s. were eliminated in most Western European countries with the introduction of currency convertibility.

In order to increase international liquidity and replace national currencies with an international reserve currency, the Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a plan to create a new type of liquid funds - Special Drawing Rigts - SDRs. SDRs are means of payment issued by the International Monetary Fund and are intended to regulate the balance of payments, replenish official reserves and settle accounts with the IMF, and measure the value of national currencies.

In accordance with this plan, SDRs were distributed free of charge among member countries of the Fund, which opened an SDR account for them in the amount of 16.8% of their quota. The issue of SDRs was carried out on a small scale: in the first years (since 1970) over 9.3 billion SDRs were issued, during 1979-1981. - 12 billion. The total share of SDRs in international assets is only 2.5%.

Initially, in 1970, a firmly fixed gold content was established in the SDR unit, like that of the US dollar - 0.888671. However, after two dollars (in 1971 and 1973) and the introduction of floating exchange rates from July 1, 1974, the cost of an SDR unit began to be determined on the basis of the weighted average exchange rate of 16 currencies of the leading capitalist countries, the share foreign trade which accounted for at least 1% of the volume.

From January 1, 1981, the number of currencies in the "currency basket" SDR was reduced to five, after which its composition is reviewed every five years. Thus, since January 1, 1991, a “basket” of SDRs has been operating, which provides for the shares of the following currencies: the US dollar - 40%, the German mark - 21, the Japanese yen - 17, the French franc and the British pound sterling - 11% each. As of the end of August 1990, 1 SDR is equal to 1.386 US dollars.

In March 1979, a new regional international monetary unit was introduced, used by member countries of the European Monetary System (EMS) - ECU (European Currency Unit). The creation of the ECU is due to the development of the Western European currency and the desire of the EMU member countries to oppose the European collective currency to the US dollar.

Unlike SDRs, which have no real collateral, the emission of the ECU is half backed by gold and US dollars (due to the pooling of 20% of the official gold reserves of EMU member countries) and half by national currencies. The ECU is issued in the form of entries in the accounts of the central banks of the countries - members of the EMU in the European Monetary Institute (until 1994 - the European Monetary Cooperation Fund).

The value of the ECU is determined by the "basket" method of the currencies of the EMU member countries. Specific gravity of each currency in the "basket" depends on the country's share in the GNP of the EMU, mutual trade, the European Monetary Institute. Due to this largest share in the "basket" on September 21, 1989, the following accounted for: the German mark - 30.1%, the French franc - 19.0, the British pound sterling - 13.0, the Belgian franc - 7.6, the Spanish peseta - 5.3, others - 5.45%.

In accordance with the agreement on the EMU, the ECU is a unit of account and a means of interstate settlements for foreign exchange interventions, but mainly - the basis for expressing the parities of the currencies of the participating countries, the regulator of deviations in market exchange rates.

The limits of acceptable fluctuation of currencies against the US dollar were established on March 19, 1973 in the amount of ± 2.25% of the central rate for all participating countries, with the exception of Italy (± 6%) due to its difficult economic situation. In 1990, Italy reduced the fluctuation limits to the generally accepted ones, and in connection with the UK's accession to the EMU in October 1990, fluctuation limits of ± 6% were set for the pound sterling. Since August 1993, the fluctuation limits have been temporarily extended to ±15%. Thus, at present, of the 15 countries participating in the EMU, only Spain, Portugal, Greece and Great Britain, which withdrew from the EMU in September 1992, do not participate in the currency grouping.

Functions of credit money

Currently, economists do not have a unified point of view on the functions of modern money, which is due to the lack of a unified point of view on their essence. Various authors throughout the post-Soviet space consider not only different amount functions of modern credit money, but also different names of these functions and a different sequence of their presentation, although even the sequence of presentation of the functions of money reflects not only the essential nature of money, but also aspects of their historical development.

Some authors believe that modern money performs all the functions of real money: a measure of value, a means of circulation, a means of payment, a means of creating treasures (means of accumulation) and world money.

Others - that money performs the functions of a measure of value, a scale of prices (technical), a medium of circulation, a means of payment and a means of accumulation.

Other authors (mostly Western) believe that modern money performs only three functions, for example, a medium of exchange, a measure of value and a means of accumulation (storage of value) or a medium of circulation, units of account and a store of value.

Some authors consider four functions of money - measures of value, means of circulation, means of payment, means of accumulation or means of circulation, means of storage of value, units of account and means of payment.

Finally, prof. A. M. Kosoy distinguishes six functions of money - a measure of value, a scale of prices, a means of circulation, a means of payment, a means of accumulation and world money.

At the same time, despite such disparity in the views of economists on the functions of modern money, it should be noted that modern credit money, being a non-commodity and non-equivalent, remaining intermediaries in the exchange of goods and facilitating it, does not perform all the functions inherent in real money, which is due to the fundamental a change in the essence of money, interpreted by Marxist theory. Therefore, it is difficult to agree with the opinion that “... In the process of evolution, the functions of money are not transformed,” since both the number and content of the functions performed by money have changed significantly since the Jamaica Conference, due to a change in the very essence of money.

So, for example, modern credit money cannot fulfill the function of world money, justified by Marx for real money, since since the demonetization of gold, modern credit money has no connection with precious metals and cannot, throwing off their national uniforms, act in the form of ingots. noble metals. Accordingly, they appear on world markets, namely, in their national uniforms, and, as a rule, in the form of bank account entries.

Moreover, not all national money can participate in international settlements, due to the different levels of economic development of countries. And in international settlements, only reserve and freely usable national money of countries that have not introduced any currency restrictions on operations with currency values ​​for either residents or non-residents are used. Accordingly, the national money of these countries serves foreign economic relations and are used as an international means of payment in the form of records on correspondent accounts of banks, i.e., in a non-cash form. In other words, modern credit money does not perform the functions of world money (in its Marxist interpretation), but, serving foreign economic relations, perform mainly the function of a means of payment.

As for the embodiment of social wealth as a property inherent in real money in the function of world money, then modern credit money, due to the absence of any connection with gold, does not possess this property of real money at all.

Do modern credit money, which has no value of its own, perform such a function of real money - as a measure of value, automatically transferred by a number of authors both to banknotes (which do not exist today) and, by inertia, to banknotes of modern money taken for banknotes?

It is important to pay attention to the fact that if banknotes, being full representatives of gold money, did not perform the function of real money as a measure of value, but only represented its performance by real money, then there are hardly enough grounds to say that modern credit money is without value and connections with gold, perform this function.

This is due to the fact that modern credit money has no price scale, no intrinsic value, and, accordingly, there are no differences between money as a measure of value and as a price scale that existed for real money. Therefore, modern money, firstly, not possessing the scale of prices of real money and, accordingly, not having its own value, cannot measure commodities as values ​​by it; secondly, under the conditions of pricing that is carried out apart from gold and the absence of a price scale as a fixed weight of the metal, modern credit money cannot measure other amounts of gold contained in commodities with a given amount of gold and express (in gold!) prices, as it was inherent in real money. money.

Consequently, modern credit money does not even have the prerequisites for considering them as a measure of value, as well as in the function of world money.

Some Western economists believe that the monetary units themselves (in fact, their names) can serve as a price scale for the simple reason that it is easy for people (society) to compare (compare) the relative prices of goods and services. However, by themselves the monetary units of modern credit money, which do not have their own value, cannot be a price scale. They need a quantitative measure of commodity prices. And such a measure of modern credit money-non-goods is their purchasing power (value).

This is due to the fact that behind the amount of goods and services that can be purchased for one nominal monetary unit in this moment time, the quantitative certainty of the socially necessary abstract human labor spent on the production of this “nth” quantity of goods and services purchased for one nominal monetary unit (at a given price level) is hidden. In other words, behind the exchange value (purchasing power) of modern money without value, the sum of the prices of this “nth” quantity of goods is hidden. Consequently, it is precisely the purchasing power (value) of modern credit money that is the monetary measure or measure of the value of monetary units, which makes it possible to measure exchange proportions between commodities and express commodity prices.

However, the fact that the prices of goods are still expressed in money today does not allow the majority of post-Soviet economists to free themselves from the Marxist interpretation of price as a monetary expression of the value of goods and, accordingly, the function of money as a measure of value. Therefore, the attempts of individual economists to justify the performance of modern paper money (without intrinsic value) as a measure of value do not stop.

As an argument, they cite the statement that "... that which is represented, as such, no longer exists, it exists only ideally in the process of representation, but since the latter exists in reality, it also has a real existence thanks to this representation" ( highlighted by A. G.). In particular, in confirmation of the above, dan, prof. A. Gritsenko gives an example of the real play of actors on the theater stage, who represent not their own life, but the life of non-existent heroes and, perhaps, even fictional ones, but the viewer imagines what the actors play as real life. In our opinion, it is hardly possible to build scientific conclusions on the basis of such an approach regarding money regarding the mentally imagined presence of value in modern money (which they have lost since the demonetization of gold and today simply do not have it).

As for the fact that modern money, which does not have its own value, can still perform the function of a measure of value, prof. A. Gritsenko notes that “... In the process of exchange, a commodity expresses its value in money. Therefore, in this case, money is a means of expressing the value of a commodity. However, they can express it only if they themselves represent the unit of value by which the value of a commodity is expressed. In this capacity, money acts as a means of representing a unit of value, i.e., the performance of the function of money as a means of representing a unit of value, with the help of which the function of expressing the value of a commodity is performed, is integrated into the function of measurement, or measure of value.

In our opinion, such an approach to substantiating the performance by modern credit money, which does not have its own value, of the function of the measure of value inherent in real money, is rather debatable. It's about that, firstly, in modern money without its own value, it is not the value that is expressed, but the price of the commodity and price proportions. Secondly, as the author rightly notes, modern money without value is not in itself an unconditional means of expressing the value of a commodity. Therefore, it is necessary to comply with the condition under which modern money without value must "themselves represent a unit of value." But the fact of the matter is that modern money without value cannot even be a representative of a unit of value, and even one that (according to the law) the money of the former USSR (up to its collapse) possessed in the form of banknotes that could not be exchanged for metal, representing, together with the fact that the Soviet ruble (and, by the way, the Ukrainian karbovanets) fulfills the function of a measure of value. Unfortunately, this historical fact is overlooked, as well as the fact that the notes of modern credit money have become a real representative of their purchasing power, by which they express the prices of commodities (and not the value of commodities) and the price proportions between them.

It is noteworthy that the validity of the Marxist assertion that the price is a monetary expression of the value of a commodity, made by him on the basis of empirical data of the 19th century, was called into question by a number of authors already at the beginning of the 20th century. This was due to the fact that commodity prices in the world began to rise. At the same time, labor productivity began to grow, helping to reduce costs per unit of output. This, in turn, meant a decrease in value, which in Marxist theory is presented as the amount of abstract socially necessary labor spent on the production of a unit of goods. With the development scientific and technological progress, the cost of production began to decline, although prices continued to rise. It is appropriate to note that Marx allowed "... the possibility of a quantitative discrepancy between price and magnitude of value, or the possibility of deviation of price from the magnitude of value ...".

However, at present there is no reason to consider the price as a monetary expression of the value of the goods. It is clear that expressing commodity prices in modern money, which at each given moment of time has a specific purchasing power (measure of value), we simultaneously express the price proportions between commodities at a given price level at the corresponding moment in time.

Accordingly, the considered representational theory of money, in our opinion, does not provide a scientific justification for what exactly modern money without value represents.

The foregoing allows us to conclude that due to the changed essence of money, modern credit money does not perform such functions of real money as a measure of value and world money. At the same time, the changed essence of money has contributed to the fact that modern credit money without value not only does not perform most of the functions of real money, but the content of some of them has changed significantly today. Schematically, the functions of modern money without value are represented by five functions, among which there are no functions of a measure of value and world money at all. The impossibility of modern money performing the function of world money (in its Marxist interpretation) without value is due to the fact that, due to the demonetization of gold that has taken place, modern money cannot, having thrown off its national uniforms, turn into ingots of precious metals, as is inherent in the function considered by K. Marx. Therefore, modern (freely used on the main currency markets world) national money act in their national uniforms, while performing the functions of a means of payment and a means of preserving and accumulating value (purchasing power). As for the function of a medium of exchange, money in this function is currently practically not used in world markets.

Consider the characteristics of each of the functions

The function of modern credit money as a means of circulation is put in the first place because the main property (their use value) of modern money without value is mediation in the exchange of commodities. By mediating and facilitating the exchange of goods, modern credit money performs the function of a medium of circulation. However, in contrast to the performance of this function by real money, modern money, mediating in the exchange of goods, does not carry out an equivalent exchange of the values ​​of goods and money, since they do not have their own value. Nevertheless, possessing purchasing power (purchasing power) at each particular moment in time, modern money carries out a conditionally equivalent exchange of the exchange values ​​of goods and money, based not on the value of modern money, but on their value.

For modern money to perform the function of a medium of exchange, they must be available. From this point of view, the performance of this function by modern credit money is no different from the performance of this function by real money and its signs. Schematically, the fulfillment of the function of a medium of circulation by money can be represented as:

T (own) - D - T (foreign).

Within any country, this function can only be performed by national money in the form of banknotes and small change issued by central bank this country. As regards the fulfillment by modern credit money without value in international settlements of the function of a medium of circulation, it should be borne in mind that this function is practically not fulfilled by modern credit money in international settlements for the following reasons.

First, all international settlements of physical and legal entities carried out through banks. Therefore, money in this case is used only in the function of a means of payment.

Secondly, on the territory of any country, the circulation of foreign currency, with the exception of border areas, such as, for example, airports, maritime stations, etc., is prohibited by currency legislation. Therefore, the national money of any country, on the territory of the host country, must be exchanged in the banks of this country for its national money.

Thus, modern money in the function of a means of circulation in international settlements is practically not used.

The function of modern credit money as a means of expressing commodity prices and price proportions between goods.

Modern credit money, devoid of a scale of prices, and, accordingly, of its own value, cannot measure the amount of gold mentally represented in commodities by the amount of gold legally assigned to one monetary unit, just as they cannot measure the value of commodities with a measure that they do not have. cost. This is due to the fact that, without a unit and instrument of measure (length, weight, volume, cost), it is generally impossible to measure the corresponding quantitative characteristics of an object. Accordingly, modern money without value cannot be a measure of value and perform the function of a measure of value (even a representative one), although modern credit money, having no value of its own, nevertheless expresses commodity prices and, accordingly, established price proportions between commodities. But from this, in turn, it follows that the prices of commodities are now expressed in money without value and have no gold basis.

It is appropriate to note that modern money expresses commodity prices and price proportions between goods by its measure of value in the form of a mentally represented sum of the prices of the quantity of goods and services that can be purchased at a particular moment in time at a given price level per one monetary unit. In other words, the expression of price proportions between goods in modern money is carried out by comparing the sum of prices of the quantity of goods and services that corresponds to the purchasing power of one monetary unit (unit of value) at a given level of commodity prices. For modern money to perform this function, they are not required to be available. Therefore, mentally imagining what can be bought for a banknote of a certain denomination (at a given price level), we thereby measure the price proportions between goods with the purchasing power of the corresponding banknote (with a unit of its value).

The unit of value of modern credit money is fundamentally different from the measure of value inherent in real money.

Firstly, the unit of value of modern credit money is equal to the sum of the prices of the quantity of goods and services that can be purchased for one monetary unit at a particular moment in time at a given price level, and not the value of the weight of the metal legally assigned to one monetary unit;
Secondly, the unit of value of modern credit money after its release into circulation entirely depends on the supply and demand for goods and services. While the measure of the value of real money depends on the weight of the metal legally assigned to one monetary unit;
Thirdly, the unit of value (purchasing power) of modern credit money, when they are legally withdrawn from circulation, is generally lost, leading banknotes and a token coin of modern money without intrinsic value to complete depreciation (nullification), unlike coins of real money, the gold content which (and their own value) does not change when they are withdrawn from circulation;
Fourthly, the unit of value of modern credit money (as the sum of the prices of the quantity of goods and services that can be purchased for one monetary unit at a given price level at a particular point in time) is an unstable value and, accordingly, commodity prices and price proportions between goods, the values ​​of modern money expressed in units can change significantly over the course of, for example, a year.

It follows from this that modern credit money without its own value and connection with gold cannot perform the function of a measure of value. But they cannot represent this function as, for example, money signs - banknotes. At the same time, commodity prices are expressed precisely in modern money (without value), while reflecting the price proportions between goods.

The monetary ticket of modern money without value performs the function of expressing commodity prices and price proportions between goods. It is clear that the banknotes (and the billon coin) have different denominations set by the legislature. This means that the legislature assigns different coercive value (purchasing power) to money notes.

At the same time, banknotes of modern money, on the one hand, outwardly resemble pre-existing banknotes, which were debt obligations of the bank that issued them, which did not have their own value, but represented the performance of the function of a measure of value by gold money. However, the banknotes of modern money differ from banknotes that do not exist today, namely, in that they do not represent either the amount of gold legally assigned to one monetary unit, or the value of this gold, or the function of a measure of value.

Accordingly, banknotes of modern money without value, remaining a sign of price and a debt obligation of the bank that issued them, are only a unit of value in the form of the sum of the prices of the quantity of goods and services that can be purchased for one monetary unit at a given price level at a particular moment in time.

Being a unit of value (purchasing power, which can be represented by the reciprocal of the absolute price level at each particular moment of time in the form of 1 / P, where P is the absolute price level at a particular point in time), modern credit money without value expresses the price proportions between goods ( long since become commensurate). Therefore, the sum of prices (K) of goods that can be purchased for one monetary unit of modern money (i.e., their purchasing power), and the sum of prices - X of goods A, and Y of goods B - are equal, in connection with which purchasing power can be considered modern money as a unit of their value, through which they express the cost proportions between commodities. Accordingly, modern money without value, at the same time, is a unit of value and expresses commodity prices with it. In this regard, the price of commodity A is expressed in one monetary unit, the value of which is equal to (1 / P), the price of commodity B is 10 monetary units, and the price of commodity C is 20 monetary units (with the same value of monetary units), and the quantitative proportions between goods A , B and C are related as 20 to 10 and to 1 (i.e., for one monetary unit with the same purchasing power, you can purchase 20 units of product A, 10 units of product B and only one unit of product C), meaning that Thus, the price of good C is 20 times the price of good A and only 2 times the price of good B.

The function of modern credit money as a means of preserving and accumulating value. The changed essence of money also affected the function of real money as a means of creating treasures or (for signs of real money - banknotes exchangeable for metal) - a means of preserving and accumulating value.

However, banknotes not exchangeable for metal, being debt obligations of the central bank, no longer performed not only the function of creating treasures (since it is unlikely that debt obligations, no matter who they were, can be considered as treasures at all), but they also did not fulfill the functions preservation and accumulation of value. At the same time, stable banknotes that cannot be exchanged for metal performed the function of preserving and accumulating value (purchasing power), which completely and completely brings modern money closer to banknotes that cannot be exchanged for metal, since modern money without value can neither store nor accumulate value. But, being, according to M. Friedman, a temporary receptacle of purchasing power, sustainable modern money can retain and accumulate value (its purchasing power). It follows from this that sustainable modern credit money performs the function of accumulation and preservation of value.

The function of modern credit money as a means of payment does not differ from the function of the same name of real money, i.e. in this function, modern money, like real money, does not mediate in the exchange of goods, but only completes it.

At the same time, the function of modern money as a means of payment differs from the function of the same name of real money (and their signs) in that modern money in the function of a means of payment takes into account only a unit of value when expressing commodity prices and price proportions between goods (and not a measure of value when determining commodity price). At the same time, the price of goods established by the contract of sale and, accordingly, nominal cost The contract reflects the total amount of the buyer's obligation, which he must repay in cash when the bill of exchange falls due.

It is appropriate to note that in international settlements the function of the means of payment, according to K. Marx, only prevailed. However, for modern credit money used in international settlements, the function of a means of payment is practically the only possible function of their implementation in world markets.

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The essence of money is also manifested in the performance of their main functions.

K. Marx singled out 5 functions of money, and put the measure of value first, and then the means of circulation. In his opinion, these are the fundamental, fundamental functions from which the rest follow:

1) money as a measure of value - i.e. equating goods to a certain amount of money. The cost measure function is implemented on the basis of the price scale;

2) money as a means of circulation, i.e. the circulation of commodities takes place on the basis of money as a means of purchase, and the act of buying and selling is not interrupted in time;

3) money as a means of accumulation and savings, i.e. money acts as a financial asset that will be preserved after the sale of goods, which will save capital, because. money is an absolutely liquid medium and at any time can serve as a means of payment (The accumulation of money in the form of jewelry is called hoarding.);

4) money as a means of payment - in this form, money is used when selling goods on credit, the need for which is associated with unequal production conditions and the sale of products, of different duration production cycle, seasonality;

5) world money - the emergence of this function is associated with the development of the international division of labor, with the need for settlements between different countries. Initially, this function was performed by the ingot form of precious metals, and today this function is performed by international monetary units - for example, the EURO.

However, modern economists, as a rule, distinguish three functions of money. For example, Economics authors Campbell R. McConnell and Stanley Brew argue that there are three functions of money: a medium of exchange, a measure of value, and a store of value. In Russian economic practice - the St. Petersburg School - these functions have the following meaning:

1) exchange;

2) accounting;

3) cumulative.

content exchange function money is the use of money as an intermediary in the exchange of some goods (services, works) for others and as means of payment in the sale and purchase of goods, in the payment of taxes and debts, in the payment of pensions and salaries, in various property transactions (pledge, lease, hiring, leasing, rent, loan, credit, etc.). The exchange of money-goods is carried out according to the scheme: ... T-D-T ...

where T is a product (service, work, benefits, money, etc.); D - money; (T-D) - the sale of goods, i.e., the exchange of goods for money; (D-T) - the purchase of goods, i.e., the exchange of money for goods; (...) - means an infinite chain of the sequence of this exchange.

Performing an exchange function, money serves as the basis for organizing the specified flow, the process of circulation of goods and uses different systems and forms of payment for purchased goods (services, works).

Each country has its own meter; V Russian Federation- ruble, in the USA - dollar, etc.

Purchasing power of money- this is their ability to exchange for a certain amount of goods (services, works). It expresses the filling of the monetary unit in circulation with the mass of goods (services, works) at a given level of prices and tariffs. The value of the purchasing power of money depends mainly on the price level, types of goods and the structure of trade.

The accumulation of value can take the form of:

Cash (banknotes and coins);

Securities stock securities (shares, bonds);

Precious metals and natural gems;

Income generating property;

Obligations of debtors purchased on Russian market debts.

Functions of money in examples: medium of exchange, measure of value, store of value, means of payment.

Example 1. Money as a medium of exchange

The factory sold the manufactured toys and received an amount of money for them equal to 80 rubles. How did Financial Manager factories with that money? He paid wages workers, paid for materials, fuel and energy to their suppliers, etc. Workers purchased consumer goods with the money they received; electricity suppliers, having received the money, purchased a new batch of fuel oil with them and paid for the labor of workers employed at the power plant, etc.

Arguing in this way, we get an endless chain of acts of selling goods and services. Moreover, each seller of his product or service received a certain amount of money in exchange for a product or service. Money changed hands all the time, circulating in the economy and servicing purchase and sale transactions. Behind these numerous purchases and sales of goods and services is the exchange of products of labor and factors of production. In all cases, money acted as an intermediary in the exchange of goods and services, or a medium of exchange.

One can, of course, imagine an economy without money as a medium of exchange. In it, commodities would be directly exchanged for each other without the help of money. These would be barter deals. In the real economy, barter transactions are relatively rare and play an insignificant role in the functioning of a market economy. This is explained by the fact that a barter transaction is possible only if there is a simultaneous coincidence of the intentions of two owners of goods to exchange their products. For example, the owners of an oil refinery supplying fuel oil to a power plant may agree to receive electricity without payment in cash in exchange for fuel oil. In this case, a mutually beneficial barter deal could take place. But such transactions are not the rule, but the exception in modern conditions. The barter economy as a single integral system in the presence of a developed division of labor and numerous transactions for the purchase and sale of goods, services, real estate, securities is practically impossible. Therefore, the functioning of money as a medium of exchange is prerequisite the existence of a market economy.

Example 2. Money as a measure of value

The producer of a commodity who intends to sell it on the market sets a price for this commodity, i.e. equates it to some amount of money. The buyer, evaluating the usefulness of this product, can offer another (naturally, smaller) amount of money for it. The bookkeeper of the toy factory, having calculated the costs of producing toys, expressed them in a certain amount of money and again equated the factory's output to a certain amount of money. In all these cases, and in an infinite number of others, money has acted as a measure of the value of goods and services. The sale of a commodity implies that the commodity is exchanged for a certain amount of money in accordance with the price that is set for it. If a ton of oil costs 10 thousand rubles. and is sold at this price, and a ton of bread costs 15,000 rubles, then with the help of money on the market it is established that the cost of a ton of bread is 1.5 times greater than the cost of a ton of oil. In order for money to serve as a means of measuring the value of goods, services and other objects of sale and purchase, a monetary unit must be established, that is, a unit of account for money itself. The national currency in Russia is the Russian ruble, in the USA - the American dollar, in Argentina - the peso, etc.

Example 3. Money as a means of accumulation

Under normal circumstances, most households do not spend all of their income on consumer goods and services. A certain part of the income is saved. Savings are made in the form of money, ie. money acts in this case as a means of creating savings. Since savings are usually made on a regular basis, households accumulate them and, therefore, money acts as a means of accumulating savings. A similar process occurs in firms that, at the expense of a part of their profits, form and accumulate a reserve fund. Thus, here, too, education and accumulation of savings take place at the expense of money.

Example 4. Money as a means of payment

In a market economy, with the help of money, many transactions are performed that are not related to the purchase of goods, payment for services, or the accumulation of savings. For example, the vast majority of firms use loans from banks and other financial institutions. In this case, the bank pays the company a certain amount of money for a specified period with the condition of return. After the expiration of the established period, the company repays the debt, i.e., returns immediately or in parts the money capital provided to it by the bank. In this case, money performed the function of a means of payment. Money plays the role of a means of payment when paying taxes, when paying state pensions and benefits, etc. In all these cases, the flow of money is not opposed by the flow of goods, services, and other objects of sale and purchase.

Important feature money is that any person, any firm, any government agency recognize money as a means of payment and unconditionally accept it in exchange for a good or service. Moreover, each of them is absolutely sure that with this money he will be able to pay for any goods, pay taxes or pay off his debt. Money can fulfill its function because everyone recognizes it as a means of payment. Consequently, MONEY is a universally recognized means of payment, which is unconditionally accepted when paying for any objects of sale and purchase, when making any payment transactions, and serves as a means of education and accumulation of savings.

Source: Economy. Fundamentals of economic theory: a textbook for grades 10–11. for educational organizations. Advanced level: in 2 books. Book. 2 // Edited by: Ivanov S. I., Linkov A. Ya. Publisher: Vita-Press, 2018 Basic cryptocurrencies Evolution of credit money With the onset of the era of industrial capitalism, the need for credit money has sharply increased. Stocks as money Becoming joint-stock companies as the dominant form of business organization, the author regards as an important stage in the development of a market economy. Liquidity as a property of money The most important property money is their absolute liquidity. Liquidity refers to the ability of any property, i.e. assets, to serve as a means of payment or turn into a means of payment. Contradictions of the functions of money in the modern economy The problem of defining money and their essence The appearance of face value as an important stage in the development of money How did central banks appear Gesell's monetary system

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Money manifests itself through its functions. Typically, there are such functions of money as:

Measure of value. Dissimilar goods are equated and exchanged among themselves on the basis of price (the exchange rate, the value of these goods, expressed in the amount of money). The price of a commodity performs the same measuring role as in geometry the length of segments, in physics the weight of bodies. Measurements do not require a thorough knowledge of what space or mass is, it is enough to be able to compare the desired value with the standard. The monetary unit is the standard for goods.

medium of exchange. Money is used as an intermediary in the circulation of goods. For this function, the ease and speed with which money can be exchanged for any other commodity is extremely important (an indicator liquidity). When using money, the commodity producer gets the opportunity, for example, to sell his product today, and buy raw materials only in a day, a week, a month, etc. At the same time, he can sell his product in one place, and buy the product he needs in a completely different one. Thus, money as a medium of circulation overcomes temporal and spatial restrictions in exchange.

Instrument of payment. The money is used to register debts and pay them. This function gets its own value for situations of unstable commodity prices. For example, a product was bought on credit. The amount of the debt is expressed in money, and not in the quantity of goods purchased. Subsequent changes in the price of goods no longer affect the amount of debt that must be paid in cash. This function is also performed by money in monetary relations with financial authorities. A similar role is played by money when it expresses any economic indicators.

means of accumulation. Money accumulated but not used allows purchasing power to be transferred from the present to the future. The function of a store of value is performed by money that is temporarily not involved in circulation. However, it should be borne in mind that the purchasing power of money depends on inflation.

world money. Foreign trade relations, international loans, the provision of services to an external partner caused the emergence of world money. They function as a universal means of payment, a universal means of purchase, and a universal materialization of social wealth.

Money- this is a means of expressing the value of commodity resources currently participating in the economic life of society, a universal embodiment of value in forms corresponding to a given level of commodity relations. Such a definition is built on the concept of value, which is more in line with the approach to money accepted in world science.

In another definition, money is an absolutely liquid medium of exchange that has two properties:

exchanged for any other product;

measures the value of any other good (this function is expressed in terms of price and scale of these prices).

The essence of money is revealed in five functions:

Measures of value

Medium of circulation

Means of payment

Means of savings and savings

world money

General characteristics of the market mechanism.

Market mechanism -- is a mechanism of interconnection and interaction of the main elements of the market: supply, demand and prices. The ideal market mechanism excludes any state setting of prices and sales volumes external to the market itself, and presupposes the free play of market forces. At the same time, the state is given the role of a "night watchman" that monitors compliance with the rules of behavior in the market, which is seen as a self-sufficient tool for solving any economic problems.

Market advantages include:

efficient allocation of resources- the market directs resources to the production of goods necessary for society;

the possibility of its successful operation in the presence of very limited information, it is enough to have data on price and production costs. For example, a dairy farmer does not need to know how much milk babies are consuming, how many other farmers are raising dairy cows, how much money is being spent on milk rather than sugar. He has enough information about prices for milk and feed, about the costs of various breeds of livestock, electricity, labor. With this information, the farmer will be able to produce approximately the amount of milk that consumers need;

flexibility and high adaptability to changing conditions. Thus, when energy prices rose sharply in 1970, the market responded by developing alternative energy sources, introducing resource-saving technologies, and introducing a regime of austerity in energy resources; optimal use of the results of scientific and technological progress. In an effort to get the highest possible profit, commodity producers take risks, develop new products, introduce the latest technologies, which allows them to have temporary advantages over competitors; freedom of choice and actions of consumers and entrepreneurs. They are independent in making their decisions, making various deals, hiring work force and so on.; ability to satisfy variety of needs, improving the quality of goods and services, more rapid correction of disequilibrium.

Disadvantages of a market economy A pure market economy is both thrifty and wasteful at the same time. Spontaneously adapting to changing social needs, it only in hindsight signals the prevailing disproportions, for example, that a certain product has been produced more than required. A change in proportions is accompanied by a loss of resources that were spent on creating excess products. The cyclic development of production is accompanied by underutilization of resources, including labor.

Focusing only on individualized effective demand, the market also fails to capture those social needs that can be provided not to individual buyers, but to society as a whole. These needs are met in the form of so-called public goods (cultural development, health care, public order and so on.).

The desire to maximize profits by saving on production costs leads to pollution environment and depletion of irreplaceable natural resources. The fact is that the market ignores the interests of those who are neither the seller nor the buyer of this product.

The social limitation of the market lies in the fact that it cannot implement the principle of social justice. The question of for whom to produce is decided in favor of those who have more income and wealth. Therefore, many vital goods and services in a market economy are not available to poor families. Meanwhile, modern humanistic culture demands that all people be provided with a certain standard of living, regardless of labor contribution. The market mechanism of the "invisible hand" is in principle not designed to solve this problem.

The distribution of income in a market economy does not guarantee an acceptable level of income for every person, regardless of whether he has a factor of production and the results of economic activity. This is a kind of social "injustice" of the market.

Competition and its types.

four theoretically possible market structures, while it is considered that they cover the majority of actually existing market structures: 1) perfect competition; - a large number of small sellers and buyers, - the product being sold is homogeneous for all manufacturers, and the buyer can choose any seller of goods to make a purchase, - the impossibility of controlling the price and volume of purchase and sale creates conditions for constant fluctuations in these values ​​under the influence of changes in market conditions, - complete freedom of "entry" to the market and "leaving".

2) monopoly; Monopoly is the absolute predominance in the economy of a sole producer or seller of products. Such predominance provides an entrepreneurial firm (firms) or other business entities that have achieved a monopoly, i.e. monopolists, the exclusive right to dispose of resources, the ability to put pressure on competitors, consumers and society as a whole, the possibility of making super profits and sustainable profits in general. A monopoly can arise as a product of natural or artificial monopoly.

3) monopolistic competition 3. The industry includes a sufficient number of firms competing with each other, so that each individual firm conducts its own pricing policy regardless of the reaction of competitors.

4) oligopoly . Oligopoly is the predominant form of modern market structure. The term "oligopoly" is used in economics to describe a market in which there are several firms, some of which control a significant market share. In an oligopolistic market, several large firms (from three to five) compete with each other and it is difficult for new firms to enter this market. The products produced by firms can be both homogeneous and differentiated. Homogeneity prevails in the markets of raw materials and semi-finished products: ores, oil, steel, cement; differentiation - in the markets of consumer goods (cars). The existence of an oligopoly is associated with restrictions on entering this market. One of them is the need for significant capital investment to create an enterprise due to the large-scale production of oligopolistic firms. Today, it is generally accepted that an enterprise producing at least 500 thousand tons per year can be effective. cars per year, smelting at least 2.5 million tons of steel,

Market demand and the law of demand.

Demand for any good characterizes our desire to buy this or that amount of this good. It is the "desire to buy" that distinguishes demand from a simple "want" to get this or that good, no matter what it is dictated by - the urgent need to satisfy a vital need or the requirements of comfort, the desire to look no worse than others or outdo a neighbor. Demand volume for any good, they call the amount of this good that an individual, a group of people or the population as a whole is willing to buy in a unit of time (day, month, year) under certain conditions. These conditions include the tastes and preferences of buyers, the prices of this and other benefits, the amount of cash income and savings. At the price of demand call the maximum price that buyers are willing to pay for a certain amount of this good. The dependence of the volume of demand on the factors determining it is called demand function .

Law of demand All other things being equal, the lower the price, the greater the demand, and vice versa, the higher the price, the lower the demand. Thus, there is an inverse relationship between price and quantity demanded. individual demand- the demand presented by an individual buyer (this is the demand we considered above). market demand- a set of individual demands. To obtain the value of market demand, it is necessary to sum the individual surveys. The transition from individual demand to market demand is carried out by summing up the quantities demanded by each individual consumer at each possible price.

Market supply and the law of supply.

offer is the quantity of a good or service that producers are willing to sell at a given price in a given period.

Law of supply

The law of supply states that supply, other things being equal, yah, changes in direct proportion to price changes. Let's consider this dependence, we will show what factors influence it.

The quantity of good X that producers would like to produce and sell is called the quantity supplied (QSx). QSx may differ from the quantity of good X actually sold to consumers. The value of QSx also depends on the time interval as well as QDx, so we will consider the proposal for the same unchanged period (year).

Money is a means that expresses the value of commodity resources involved in the economic and economic life of society. Money finds a universal embodiment of value in forms that correspond to a certain level of commodity relations.

Money concept is based on the concept of value, which is in line with the international approach to money. Another definition of money is the concept that it is a liquid medium of exchange that has the ability to exchange for any other commodity and measure the value of any commodity.

Money appears spontaneously in the course of the development of commodity circulation, in which a surplus of goods arises. At the same time, the exchange is permanent and massive, which predetermined the emergence of the need special means circulation in the form of money.

The essence of money can be revealed by the example of their functions. Main functions money is a measure of value, a means of circulation, payment and savings, as well as a function of world money.

Measure of value and medium of exchange

The measure of the value of money is characterized by the formation of a price, which determines the value of the commodity measured by money. Thus, goods are equated with each other when they receive a quantitative measurement.

The monetary measure of value is price, which depends on certain conditions of production and exchange. In order to compare prices, they need to be brought to a single scale.

Money as a means of circulation is used by intermediaries in the circulation of products and services. In this function, the speed and ease of circulation of money, their quick exchange for any other product are important. The liquidity indicator is important.

When using money, producers of goods get the opportunity to sell their goods today, and buy raw materials only through certain time. In this case, they can sell their goods in one place and at one time, and acquire the goods and resources they need in a completely different place. We can say that money as a means of circulation is able to overcome temporal and spatial restrictions in the process of their exchange. Money as a means of circulation prevailed in the development of trade. After credit appeared and the economy received its further development, the function of money as a means of payment came to the fore. This was also facilitated by the use of plastic cards and other electronic payment instruments, the possibility of payment through transfers from a bank account, including wholesale and retail purchases.

Money as a means of payment

As a means of payment, money is characterized by the fact that the time of payment may not coincide with the time of payment. Goods can be sold on credit, as well as with deferred payment. This function has received an independent value, subject to the instability of product prices. For example, when buying goods on credit, the amount of debt is expressed in money, not in the quantity of purchased products. A further change in prices for these products is not able to affect the amount of debt, which is paid in cash.

This function is also performed by money in monetary relations with financial authorities. Similar in meaning roles can be played by money when certain economic indicators are reflected in them.

Other functions of money

As a store of value, money is accumulated but unused money. This makes it possible to transfer purchasing power from the present moment to the future moment. The function of a store of value is performed by money that is temporarily not involved in circulation. At the same time, it should be taken into account that this ability of money depends on inflationary processes.

The function of money "world money" functions in the implementation of foreign trade relations, international purchases, and the provision of services to external partners. Money in this function functions as a universal means of payment, the realization of social wealth.

World money is most often used in international settlements. A modern developed economy is characterized by the presence of three main functions of money: a measure of value, a means of accumulation and a means of calculation. The function of money as a medium of circulation remains very small.