DEfinition of money.

[Paul Davidson <pdavidson@xxxxxxx>]

At 07:25 PM 8/16/98 -0400, you wrote:
>
>It may be interesting to survey those attending to these discussions as
>to what Money is.  Despite the many offerings of definitions, there
>doesn't seem to be a universally understood or accepted notion of the
>nature of money.
>
>

IN my Post Keynesian Macroeconomic Theory book , chapter 6 and 7 discusses
the various definitions of money -- including exemplifications that
Monetarists confuse as definitions.  I define money by its two functions
and two propoerties. Its functions are:as that thing which discharges legal
contractual obligations (Keynes's chartalist definition ) and as a store of
value. (Anything that pssesses BOTH functions is MONEY.  The two properties
are essential for liquidity: its elasticity of production is zero and its
leasticity of substitution for producible goods is zero.

What's your definiton?
Paul Davidson
Holly Chair of Excellence in Political Economy
Economics Department -- 523 SMC
University of Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennesseee 37996-0550
email: Pdavidson@xxxxxxx;   phone: (423)974-4221;    fax: (423) 974-1686