DOUBLE COINCIDENCE OF WANTS

DOUBLE COINCIDENCE OF WANTS

The use of money spans a very large part of our everyday life. Look around you and you would easily be able to identify several transactions involving money in any single day. Can you make a list of these? In many of these transactions, goods are being bought and sold with the use of money. In some of these transactions, services are being exchanged with money. For some, there might not be any actual transfer of money taking place now but a promise to pay money later.

Have you ever wondered why transactions are made in money? The reason is simple. A person holding money can easily exchange it for any commodity or service that he or she might want. Thus everyone prefers to receive payments in money and then exchange the money for things that they want. Take the case of a shoe manufacturer. He wants to sell shoes in the market and buy wheat. The shoe manufacturer will first exchange shoes that he has produced for money, and then exchange the money for wheat. Imagine how much more difficult it would be if the shoe manufacturer had to directly exchange shoes for wheat without the use of money. He would have to look for a wheat-growing farmer who not only wants to sell wheat but also wants to buy the shoes in exchange. That is, both parties have to agree to sell and buy each others commodities. This is known as double coincidence of wants. What a person desires to sell is exactly what the other wishes to buy. In a barter system where goods are directly exchanged without the use of money, double coincidence of wants is an essential feature.

In contrast, in an economy where money is in use, money by providing the crucial intermediate step eliminates the need for double coincidence of wants. It is no longer necessary for the shoe manufacturer to look for a farmer who will buy his shoes and at the same time sell him wheat. All he has to do is find a buyer for his shoes. Once he has exchanged his shoes for money, he can purchase wheat or any other commodity in the market. Since money acts as an intermediate in the exchange process, it is called a medium of exchange.

Let’s work these out

1.  How does the use of money make it easier to exchange things?

2.  Can you think of some examples of goods/services being exchanged or wages being paid through barter?

Source: This topic is taken from NCERT TEXTBOOK