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The tax-foundation theory of fiat money

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Abstract

A government can promote the use of an object as the general medium of exchange by accepting it in tax payments. I prove this old claim in a dynamic model and compare the mechanism to convertibility. The government can often keep its favourite money in circulation even while increasing its quantity and thus causing it to decrease in value. This opens the door for an inflationary policy. Most successful fiat moneys have been acceptable for tax payments, typically due to legal tender laws. Numerous historical failures of fiat moneys are consistent with the theory.
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  • Dror Goldberg, 2012. "The tax-foundation theory of fiat money," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 50(2), pages 489-497, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:joecth:v:50:y:2012:i:2:p:489-497
    DOI: 10.1007/s00199-010-0564-8
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    1. Ding, Shuze & Puzzello, Daniela, 2020. "Legal restrictions and international currencies: An experimental approach," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    2. Starr, Ross M., 2008. "Commodity money equilibrium in a convex trading post economy with transaction costs," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(12), pages 1413-1427, December.
    3. Mack Ott & John A. Tatom, 2016. "Government Finance and the Demand for Money—The Relation between Taxation and the Acceptability of Fiat Money," Economic Notes, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, vol. 45(1), pages 53-77, February.
    4. Dror Goldberg, 2012. "The tax-foundation theory of fiat money," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 50(2), pages 489-497, June.
    5. Diarmid Weir, 2013. "Fiat Money, Individual Rationality and Production," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 64(4), pages 573-590, November.
    6. C. A. E. Goodhart, 2009. "The Continuing Muddles of Monetary Theory: A Steadfast Refusal to Face Facts," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 76(s1), pages 821-830, October.
    7. Starr, Ross M., 2008. "Commodity Money in a Convex Trading Post Sequence Economy," University of California at San Diego, Economics Working Paper Series qt2s87k9cj, Department of Economics, UC San Diego.
    8. Alexander W. Salter & William J. Luther, 2014. "Synthesizing State and Spontaneous Order Theories of Money," Advances in Austrian Economics, in: Entangled Political Economy, volume 18, pages 161-178, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    9. Stephan Unger, 2019. "On the Bailout of Currencies," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 25(1), pages 79-89, February.
    10. Starr, Ross M., 2007. "Equilibrium and Media of Exchange in a Convex Trading Post Economy With Transaction Costs," University of California at San Diego, Economics Working Paper Series qt3wx6s4z8, Department of Economics, UC San Diego.
    11. Gabriele Camera, 2016. "A Perspective on Electronic Alternatives to Traditional Currencies," Working Papers 16-32, Chapman University, Economic Science Institute.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Fiat money; Taxes; Legal tender; Inflation; E42;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E42 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Monetary Sytsems; Standards; Regimes; Government and the Monetary System

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