Re: on money

From: Paul C (clyder@GN.APC.ORG)
Date: Sat May 29 2004 - 16:55:57 EDT


Ian Wright wrote:

>>But, to me, the overwhelming merit of Menger is that he insists on
>>
>>
>the spontaneous >emergence of money within the market and through
>economic processes.
>
>Just as a point of interest, this paper:
>
>Ramon Marimon, Ellen McGrattan, Thomas Sargent. Money as a
>medium of exchange in an economy with artificially intelligent agents.
>Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, 14 (1990), 329-373.
>
>is a constructive proof of the possibility of the emergence of a money
>commodity via economic exchange. I once replicated this computational
>experiment with a student. The main conclusion is that it is very easy
>for the money commodity to be selected via a social convention that
>emerges over time via local exchanges. All it requires is some very
>basic learning and memory on the part of the agents.
>
>I agree that Marx presents a causal story of the endogenous emergence of money.
>
>-Ian.
>
>
>
>
This may be possible in simulation Ian, but did it happen in history?


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