harcourt brace & company chapter 15 the monetary system
TRANSCRIPT
Harcourt Brace & Company
Chapter 15
The Monetary System
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The Meaning of Money
Money is the set of assets in the economy that people regularly use to buy goods and services from other people.
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Three Functions of Money
Medium of Exchange: anything that is readily acceptable as payment.
Unit of Account: serves as a unit of account to help us compare the relative values of goods.
Store of Value: a way to keep some of our wealth in a readily spendable form for future needs.
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The Two Types of Money Commodity Money: something that
performs the function of money and has alternative, nonmonetary uses.– Examples: Gold, silver, cigarettes
Fiat Money: something that serves as money but has no other important uses.– Examples: Coins, currency, check
deposits
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Money in the U.S. Economy
Money Stock is the quantity of money circulating in the economy.
Different ways of measuring the money stock in the economy:
– M1
– M2
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The most familiar form of money used includes:– Coins
– Currency
– Check Deposits
– Travelers Checks
Measurement of Money
M1
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Measurement of Money
A broader measure of money than M1, includes:– M1 +
– Savings Deposits +
– Small Time Deposits +
– Money Market Mutual Funds +
– and other minor categories
M2
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Where is All The Currency?
In 1996 there was about $380 billion of U.S. currency outstanding ($1,900 in currency per person).
Location of outstanding currency may include:– Currency held abroad– Currency held by illegal entities– Currency held in businesses for transac-
tion purposes
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Quick Quiz!
List and describe the three functions of money.
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The Federal Reserve
The Federal Reserve (“Fed”) serves as the nation’s central bank, which is designed to oversee the banking system and regulate the quantity of money in the economy.
The “Fed” is a privately owned institution, authorized in 1914 by Congress to ensure the health of the nation’s banking system.
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The Fed’s Organization
The Fed is run by its Board of Governors.– Seven members appointed by the
President of the United States.
– The Chairman of the Board is the most important position: presiding, directing, and testifying about Fed policy. She/He is appointed by the President.
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The Fed’s Organization
The Federal Reserve System is made up of the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, D.C. and twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks.
Monetary policy is made by the Federal Open-Market Committee.
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Three Primary Functions of the Fed Regulate the private banking
industry to make sure banks follow federal laws intended to promote safe and sound banking practices.
Act as a banker’s bank, making loans to other banks and as a lender of last resort.
Control of the supply of money i.e. Monetary Policy.
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Money Supply Changes by the Fed Open-Market Operations: The primary
way in which the Fed changes the money supply done through the purchase and sale of U.S. government bonds with newly printed money.– To increase the money supply, the Fed
buys government bonds from the public.
– To decrease the money supply, the Fed sells government bonds to the public.
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Quick Quiz!
How does the Fed increase the supply of money in the economy?
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Banks and The Money Supply
The behavior of banks can influence the quantity of demand deposits in the economy and therefore, the money supply.
Fractional Reserve Banking System: The practice of holding a fraction of money deposited as reserves and lending out the rest.
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Fractional Reserve Banking
Deposits into a bank are recorded as both assets and liabilities. Deposits that have been received but not lent out are called reserves.
The supply of money in the economy is affected by the amount of deposits that are kept in the bank as reserves and the amount that is lent out. Loans become an asset to the bank.
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Bank “T-Account” Example
Assets Liabilities
First National Bank
Reserves$10.00
Loans$90.00
Deposits$100.00
Total Assets$100.00
Total Liabilities$100.00
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Bank “T-Account” Example
A “T-Account” illustrates the financial position of a bank that accepts deposits, keeps a portion as reserves and lends out the rest.
Assets Liabilities
First National Bank
Reserves$10.00
Loans$90.00
Deposits$100.00
Total Assets$100.00
Total Liabilities$100.00
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Money Creation with Fractional-Reserve Banking
When a bank makes a loan (from it’s reserves) the money supply increases. When banks hold only a fraction of deposits in reserve, banks create money.
The creation of money through loans does not create any wealth, but allows banks to charge interest several times on the same bit of wealth.
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The Money Multiplier
When one bank loans money, that money is generally deposited into another or the same bank thus creating more deposits and more reserves to be lent out.
The Money Multiplier is the amount of money that the banking system generates with each dollar of reserves.
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The Money Multiplier
Assets Liabilities
First National Bank
Reserves$10.00
Loans$90.00
Deposits$100.00
Total Assets$100.00
Total Liabilities$100.00
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The Money Multiplier
Assets Liabilities
First National Bank
Reserves$10.00
Loans$90.00
Deposits$100.00
Total Assets$100.00
Total Liabilities$100.00
Assets Liabilities
Second National Bank
Reserves$9.00
Loans$81.00
Deposits$90.00
Total Assets$90.00
Total Liabilities$90.00
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The Money Multiplier
Assets Liabilities
First National Bank
Reserves$10.00
Loans$90.00
Deposits$100.00
Total Assets$100.00
Total Liabilities$100.00
Assets Liabilities
Second National Bank
Reserves$9.00
Loans$81.00
Deposits$90.00
Total Assets$90.00
Total Liabilities$90.00
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The Money Multiplier
Assets Liabilities
First National Bank
Reserves$10.00
Loans$90.00
Deposits$100.00
Total Assets$100.00
Total Liabilities$100.00
Assets Liabilities
Second National Bank
Reserves$9.00
Loans$81.00
Deposits$90.00
Total Assets$90.00
Total Liabilities$90.00
Total Money Supply = $190.00!
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What determines the size of the money multiplier?
The money multiplier is the reciprocal of the reserve ratio.– With a reserve
requirement (R) of 20% or 1/5 . . .
– The multiplier will be 5.
1 R
M =
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Tools of Monetary Control The Fed has three instruments of
monetary control: Open-Market Operations:
– Buying and selling bonds. Changing the Reserve Ratio:
– Increasing or decreasing the ratio. Changing the Discount Rate:
– The interest rate the Fed charges other banks for loans.
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Problems in Controlling the Money Supply
Two problems that the Fed must “wrestle” that arise due to fractional-reserve banking:
The Fed does not control the amount of money that households choose to hold as deposits in banks.
The Fed does not control the amount of money that bankers choose to lend.