9. Money and Prices

Introduction to Austrian Economic Analysis

06/22/2006 Joseph T. Salerno

Barter – direct exchange- is inefficient because of the lack of a double coincidence of wants. Some third medium was sought to solve this. It is called money. Exchanges are not equal, they are win-win, with each party gaining more than he is giving or the exchange would not be made.

An increase in the supply of all commodities is good, except for money. Increases in the supply of money merely dilute the purchasing power of each remaining money unit.

The ninth of ten lectures from Joseph Salerno’s Introduction to Austrian Economic Analysis seminar.

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