Medium of exchange: Money's most important function is
as a medium of exchange to facilitate transactions. Without money, all
transactions would have to be conducted by
barter, which involves direct exchange of one good or service for another. The difficulty with a
barter system is that in order to obtain a
particular good or service from a supplier, one has to possess a good or
service of equal value, which the supplier also desires. In other
words, in a barter system, exchange can take place
only if there is a
double coincidence of wants between two transacting
parties. The likelihood of a double coincidence of wants, however, is
small and makes the exchange of goods and services rather difficult.
Money effectively eliminates the double coincidence of wants problem by
serving as a medium of exchange that is accepted in all transactions, by
all parties, regardless of whether they desire each others' goods and
services.
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