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McCloskey, D. N. (2016). Fungibility. In The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics (pp. 1–1). London: Palgrave Macmillan UK. (Original work published 1987). 
Added by: Rucknium (09/03/2022, 21:25)   Last edited by: Rucknium (09/03/2022, 21:31)
Resource type: Book Chapter
DOI: 10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_1021-1
ID no. (ISBN etc.): 978-1-349-95121-5
BibTeX citation key: McCloskey1987
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 Categories: Not Monero-focused
Creators: McCloskey
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan UK (London)
Collection: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics		 Views: 34/3057
Attachments   mccloskey1987.pdf [8/1035] URLs   https://doi.org/10 ... 349-95121-5_1021-1
Abstract
Fungibility is a central notion in economics, though often unnoticed and unnamed. It means merely `substitutable', and is in origin a Latin legal term meaning `such that any unit is substitutable for another' (from fungor meaning `do, discharge'). A debt can be discharged with any money, not merely moneys from a particular account. The task of a low-level administrator is to make accounts fungible with each other, so that pencil money may be spent for office parties when required; the task of a high-level administrator is to prevent this. Mother cannot give money `for' a new refrigerator: the gift merely raises the recipient's income. Likewise the World Bank rule that the items `financed by' the Bank must attain a certain level of social return is pointless. The {$}100 million given to a government will be used anyway for the marginal project in the government's list; the project `for which the money is given' can be claimed to be any intramarginal one.
  
Quotes
   Fungibility is a central notion in economics, though often unnoticed and unnamed. It means merely ‘substitutable’, and is in origin a Latin legal term meaning ‘such that any unit is substitutable for another’ (from fungor meaning ‘do, discharge’). A debt can be discharged with any money, not merely moneys from a particular account. The task of a low-level administrator is to make accounts fungible with each other, so that pencil money may be spent for office parties when required; the task of a high-level administrator is to prevent this. Mother cannot give money ‘for’ a new refrigerator: the gift merely raises the recipient’s income. Likewise the World Bank rule that the items ‘financed by’ the Bank must attain a certain level of social return is pointless. The $100 million given to a government will be used anyway for the marginal project in the government’s list; the project ‘for which the money is given’ can be claimed to be any intramarginal one.


Because demands for grain are fungible a cut in Soviet orders for American grain does not cause a one-for-one fall in demands on American suppliers. Because money is fungible the prospect of a government pension will reduce the incentive to save privately. The last, ‘winning’ points in a football game are in no coherent sense the winning points, since points are fungible. On the same grounds ‘the reasons’ for a decision are meaningless: criteria for the decision are fungible.

  Added by: Rucknium
Comments:
Quote is the full text of the dictionary entry.   Added by: Rucknium  (2022-03-09 21:31:02)
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