One Night To Be Billionaire (in our dream).

The topic for today is rather childish and common sense. Though knowing it’s a common sense, the objective pf this article is to bring you to see the viewpoint of economist how they look at one thing and explain things in a logical way.

Monopoly, I believe majority of us have played/heard it before. And I am certain that I must not be the only one who wished that the money in monopoly could be used as money in reality. Oh, imagine how we would all be a millionaire. Of course, without thinking, we all know this fantasy will never come true. However, in a sense, it is indeed a type of money, if we think deeper. However, just when we are in the game, but not when we do actual purchasing. It provoke the questions such as what is different between the money we use in actuality? What determine the money we use in actuality to become the currency we all use? 

Money is anything that is a generally accepted medium of financial exchange. The definition of itself explained little that why are not monopoly money or any toy money is being used in exchanging goods and services. To have more in dept understanding, lets refer to the key characteristics and functions of money.

Key Characteristics of Money

• Durability: is it long-lasting?

• Portable: is it convenient/easy to carry around?

• Divisible: can it be broken down into smaller denominations

• Hard to counterfeit - i.e. it can’t easily be faked or copied

• Must be generally accepted by a population

• Valuable: does it holds value over time?

Looking at this, you may think of something that meet these requirements. However, they are still not accepted as a medium albeit meeting those characteristics. Hence, we also look at the the functions of money.

Key Functions of Money

1. Medium of exchange: money allows goods and services to be traded without the need for a barter system. Barter systems rely on there being a double coincidence of wants between the two people involved in an exchange

2. Store of value: this can refer to any asset whose “value” can be used now or used in the future i.e. its value can be retrieved at a later date. This means that people can save now to fund spending at a later date.

3. Unit of account: this refers to anything that allows the value of something to be expressed in an understandable way, and in a way that allows the value of items to be compared.

4. Standard of deferred payment: this refers to the expressing of the value of a debt i.e. if people borrow today, then they can pay back their loan in the future in a way that is acceptable to the person who made the loan.

In conclusion, monopoly money/toy money is not accepted.

Do you have the feeling of being fooled? If yes, haha, welcome to the world of economics! As a matter of fact, though it is about a studies of human behavior, it is rather common sense. But do not underestimate, all these findings, theories and diagrams and derived from people behavior, decoded the the pattern of how human beings work. A small discoveries lead to a better civilized world. Never doubt yourself, for what you are fond of. Instead, be hunger and keep asking the question "why"! You would never know where will your "why" lead you to.