For release on delivery 10:15 a.m. EST February 24, 2023  Discussion of the Paper “Managing Disinflations” by Stephen G. Cecchetti, Michael E. Feroli, Peter Hooper, Frederic S. Mishkin, and Kermit L. Schoenholtz  Remarks by Philip N. Jefferson Member Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System at the U.S. Monetary Policy Forum New York, New York  February 24, 2023  Thank you very much for inviting me to discuss this paper.
By joining in the network of sequential barters involving that particular commodity as an intervening vehicle of exchange, the clever merchant can minimise his market time, maximise time for production or leisure, and specialise more. The exceptional good that enters so many exchanges becomes the medium of exchange; it becomes money. Money facilitates spot purchase-sale contracts because it minimises the time spent transacting.