Milton Friedman's "Money Mischief"

Paper Summary:

This paper summarizes Milton Friedman's explanation about how "money", or currency, works and how it is widely accepted as a means for exchange for goods and services. The paper also looks at Friedman's discussion of different types of currencies, how government can increase the currency in order to allow greater government spending, and the switch from the gold standard to a currency directly connected to a commodity.

From the Paper:

"Many different items have been used as "money" or currency throughout history. From trading items for goods and services to exchanging beads, metals, or paper money these are all forms of currency. Currency can be anything that carries a certain value to make it worth exchanging. In Germany Milton Friedman expresses an instance in which he traded cigarettes for the sale of gasoline (Friedman 13). Friedman brings this to life from an interesting perspective through the Island of Stone Monkey. The Caroline Islands in Micronesia were laid claim to by the Germans' as one of their colonies 1899. The island of Uap had a population of five to six thousand natives and was the wealthiest island of the group. The used a stone as their currency called "fei." The stone was limestone brought from an island some four hundred miles away."

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