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Money is More than a Memory

Author

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  • Maria Bigoni

    (University of Bologna)

  • Gabriele Camera

    (Economic Science Institute, Chapman University and University of Basel)

  • Marco Casari

    (University of Bologna and IZA)

Abstract

Impersonal exchange is the hallmark of an advanced society. One key institution for impersonal exchange is money, which economic theory considers just a primitive arrangement for monitoring past conduct in society. If so, then a public record of past actions—or memory—supersedes the function performed by money. This intriguing theoretical postulate remains untested. In an experiment, we show that the suggested functional equality between money and memory does not translate into an empirical equivalence. Monetary systems perform a richer set of functions than just revealing past behaviors, which proves to be crucial in promoting large-scale cooperation.

Suggested Citation

  • Maria Bigoni & Gabriele Camera & Marco Casari, 2014. "Money is More than a Memory," Working Papers 14-17, Chapman University, Economic Science Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:chu:wpaper:14-17
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    3. Lambrecht, Marco & Sofianos, Andis & Xu, Yilong, 2021. "Does mining fuel bubbles? An experimental study on cryptocurrency markets," Working Papers 0703, University of Heidelberg, Department of Economics.
    4. Borgonovo, Emanuele & Caselli, Stefano & Cillo, Alessandra & Masciandaro, Donato & Rabitti, Giovanni, 2021. "Money, privacy, anonymity: What do experiments tell us?," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    5. M. Bigoni & G. Camera & M. Casari, 2015. "Money and the Scale of Cooperation," Working Papers wp1045, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
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    7. Maria Bigoni & Gabriele Camera & Marco Casari, 2019. "Cooperation among strangers with and without a monetary system," Working Papers 19-01, Chapman University, Economic Science Institute.
    8. Eduardo Ferraciolli & Tanya Araújo, 2023. "Agent-based Modeling and the Sociology of Money: a Framework for the Study of Coordination and Plurality," Working Papers REM 2023/0285, ISEG - Lisbon School of Economics and Management, REM, Universidade de Lisboa.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Cooperation; intertemporal trade; experiments; social norms; social dilemmas;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C70 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - General
    • C90 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - General
    • D03 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles
    • E02 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General - - - Institutions and the Macroeconomy

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