Thursday 827
Mostly summarized from Gregory Mankiw’s Principles of Economics, 5th Ed. PART 10 Money and Prices in the Long Run Chapter 29 of 36 The Monetary System Section 7 of 22 … Why aren’t credit cards included as part of the economy's stock of money? Since they are used to make purchases they seem to be a method of payment. Credit cards are excluded from all measures of money quantity because they are not really a method of payment but rather a method of deferring payment. When you use a credit card to buy a meal the bank that issued the card immediately pays the restaurant. At a later date you repay the bank from your checking account. The balance in your checking account is part of the economy's money stock. Debit cards automatically directly withdraw funds from a bank checking account to pay for a purchase. So, a debit card is more similar to a check than a credit card. … Although credit cards are not a form of money they are important in monetary system analysis. People who use c...