What is a cu? A conditional unit is ...

Inflation and devaluation are different things. The first term denotes the growth of domestic prices, which does not always occur in all consumer segments in equal proportions. For example, the rent can rise in price, and the prices for a potato will remain former or even will decrease.

Devaluation means the growth of foreign exchange rates in relation to the official state monetary unit. The reverse process is called revaluation.

Why, at a certain historical stage, as a standard, a certain conventional unit was chosen, for what reasons did it designate the price? USD. (To put it more simply, the dollar), for many years in our country served as an indexer of both devaluation and inflation. What is the reason?

Universal measure

There was a time when the Soviet and then the Russian ruble was losing its purchasing power almost simultaneously with the growth of the dollar, and very quickly. Today's citizens at the age of forty and older remember well what y is. That is, young people know this concept less. After the actual collapse of the Soviet monetary system, the US dollar became the yardstick for valuing the objects of purchase and sale (and, in general, almost everything), for a special color scheme called "greens" or "cabbage."

Citizens of a great country used to calculate foreign money was unusual, and sometimes ashamed. There's nothing to be done, it's impossible to remove the history of pages. What was, it was.

Tuggins and check shops

Currency stores existed in the USSR and in relatively prosperous pre-perestroika times. Torgsiny and did open in the early twenties. The purpose of creating these trade organizations was double. First, to induce Soviet citizens to part with the gold and foreign exchange values in an orderly manner, receiving in exchange what was available abroad to everyone, and in the Soviet Union was a deficit. Secondly, foreigners were able to make purchases without queue, comfortably, and thus avoid contact with Soviet trade (they did not need to know about it, and then they would do it there ...). It happened that our common man wandered into the "check" or Torgsin accidentally (Vladimir Vysotsky told about such a story in one of his songs). The goods on the shelves were striking with brightness and variety, the figures on the small tablets seemed quite affordable, especially since there were no "dollar bugs" and other foreign symbols on the price tags. An attempt to buy something was thwarted by the question: "What is your currency?" The naive buyer was timidly interested in whether it was possible to pay rubles, what he received an arrogant response to the seller's importance: the price is indicated in conventional units. Misunderstood explained what y is. E., After which they were ashamed to leave the Soviet store, where it was better for Soviet citizens not to enter ...

In a sea of floating courses

After the introduction of the Jamaican currency system in 1978, such an important component of the world economic relations, such as tight binding of leading monetary units to gold content, disappeared. In the financial ocean, among the floating rates, those countries with the stability of the purchasing power of the national monetary unit are ensured by the prosperity of macro indicators (the balance of payments, the size of the external and internal debt, the size of the gross product, etc.) feel confident among the floating rates. Citizens of such states have no idea What is a uu, they have enough of their own currency. The dollar rate is only interested in foreign trade subjects and exchange speculators. But this is so long as the size of inflation is within acceptable and reasonable limits. When prices start to go up too quickly, a natural question arises as to how to preserve the accumulation, or rather, the ability to buy something on them in the future. People are stubbornly striving for some kind of binding, they need confidence in the future.

Dollar or euro?

To understand what is a dollar, and to evaluate the meaning of this term in the life of the nineties is impossible without an analysis of the economic situation of that era. The collapse of the Union was accompanied by the most deplorable phenomena, among which was the rapid depreciation of the Soviet ruble. At employment the important financial stimulus was the dollar salary which size seems ridiculous today. However, these are the realities. The employee knew for sure that regardless of fluctuations in the exchange rate, the amount of goods that he could consume would remain relatively unchanged. Despite the fact that settlements on the territory of the country were made only in the national currency, most prices for consumer goods (especially for imports) were indicated "in the equivalent". After the adoption of the common European currency, it became necessary to specify what the conventional unit is to the dollar or euro.

The prohibitions, decisions and exit from the situation

The lack of confidence in the national monetary unit and the mass striving of citizens to store savings in foreign currency testify to the unfavorable economic situation that has developed in the state. Moreover , a country suffering from this vice can not be considered fully sovereign. The extreme manifestation of this political situation can be the "freely annexed territory" of Puerto Rico, whose citizens voluntarily abandoned their own currency (where the US dollar walks) and other basic signs of state independence. Russia had all chances to become the same "banana republic", despite the government decree issued in March 1993, designed to regulate the foreign exchange market and prohibit the circulation of foreign currency. A simple but legally impeccable way to avoid punishment for violating this legislative act appeared at once. Typically, the transaction was as follows: the buyer in mind (or using a calculator) converted the conventional units into rubles, the amount was recorded in the contract of sale (most often understated), and then pale green, tied with rubber band, money was passed from hand to hand . Running around exchange offices usually no one bothered.

Strength and weakness of the dollar. Hypothetical conventional unit of the near future

Many citizens, especially the elderly, were indignant at the dominance of the American currency. "Why is everyone chasing dollars so much, what power is there in them?" They were surprised. "These pieces of paper are provided by the economic and industrial power of the United States," they were reasonably explained to "enlightened economists". How true is this today?

In recent decades, confidence in the dollar has declined significantly, despite the fact that it still functions as an international means of payment. The financial system of the United States suffers from serious economic problems, including astronomical external debt, a huge budget deficit and other consequences of "budget inflation." Prospects are added by the gloominess and almost uncontrollable work of the FRS machines that print money unsecured by real money.

It is possible that the time of "free floating" exchange rates is coming to an end. The world economy needs some kind of peg. Perhaps, soon a new standard will be required. Will it again be gold, another precious metal, or will the states agree that the conventional unit is some amount of energy consumed (for example, 1 gigacalorie or 100 kWh)? Some economists are inclined to such variants, and assumptions about what will be a universal measure of the value of the future, converge on its energy nature.