The Value of MoneyAnderson, Benjamin M. (Benjamin McAlester)
General
The Value of Money
Anderson, Benjamin M. (Benjamin McAlester)
Money
Fisher states on p. 95 that "other elements in the equation of exchange
than money and commodities[339] cannot be transported from one place to
another." And in the passage quoted above he maintains that price-levels
in one country can influence price-levels in another country, or even
price-levels in one city can influence price-levels in another city,
only _via_ changes in money, in the second country or city. But other
elements in the equation are _directly_ transferable, in fact.
_Deposits_, _e. g._, in London, to the credit of New York bankers, may
be transferred to Paris, directly, by _cable_ or by _letter_, and
_prices_ are constantly being directly passed from one country or market
to another by the same media. Let us suppose a strong case, to put our
principle in relief. Assume an island, which produces a staple widely
used, whose chief centre of production is outside the island. Assume
that this staple, an agricultural product, rises greatly in price, owing
to a blight, which promises to be permanent, in the main producing
region. The blight does not affect the island, however. Let this product
be the main product of our island, which we shall assume to be small.
Let the island have communication with the outside world by boat only
once in three months. Let it be, however, in constant communication by
cable. Word comes by cable of the rise in the price in the staple. The
staple at once rises in the island. No new money has come in to cause
it. Will this be a rise in the price-level? Will there be compensating
reductions in the prices of other things to leave the price-level
unchanged? What prices can fall? Not the prices of goods that have been
imported to the island, surely. They will rather tend to rise, because
everybody on the island will feel richer than before, and will be
disposed to buy more freely. Meanwhile, merchants and bankers on the
island will be more ready to extend credit than before, so that they
will be able to buy more freely. What else can fall? Not the prices of
the land! Rather, the land will rise in price greatly, because the
increased price of the staple, expected to be permanent, will promise
bigger rents, and the price of the land, being a _capitalization_ of the
annual rental, will rise very much more than anything else--it will rise
to the extent of the capitalized price of the increase in the rents.
Wages, likewise, will rise, since the price of the product of labor has
risen. And the capital instruments in use in producing the staple will
also rise, though not so much as land and wages, inasmuch as they can be
brought in from outside at the end of three months. What is there that
can fall--except, perhaps, such goods as are exclusively designed for
the construction of poorhouses! A significant particular price
rises--that is the first step; then, from causes familiar to all
students of economics, other related prices rise; there is a general
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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