马夏律的学说

(2)马夏律的学说

马夏律(A.Marshall)为近代英国经济学界的权威，其所著《货币信用与商业》出版甚晚，然其在剑桥大学(Cambridge University)主讲经济学多年，其学说早已深入人心。所以剑桥学派的现金剩余学说，当推马夏律为首领。他说，货币的用途，以最方便的形式给人以随时取得一般的购买力。但是货币保留在手中，不能生息，所以人们权衡利害，多留货币，或是购物，或投资。由此，一国所有货币总值得以维持，不至于十分超过或不足人民保留的随时购买力。

“Amoney is not desired for its own sake，but because its possession gives a ready command of general purchasing power，in a convenient form...So currency is valued in accordance with the amount of ready pur-chasing power over which it gives command.If an extensive of the advantage thus gained could be acquired without cost，every one would keep a large command of ready purchasing power on hand in the formof currency.But currency held in the hand yields no income;therefore every one balances(more or less automatically and instinctively)the benefits，which he could get by enlarging his stock of currency in the hand，against those which he could get by investing some of it either in a commodity—say a coat or a piano—fromwhich he would derive a direct benefit，or in some business plant or stock exchange security，which would yield hima money income.Thus the total value of the currency which a nation holds is kept from falling considerably below，or rising considerably above，the ready purchasing power，which the members care to hold in hand.”^[26]

“To give definition of this notion，let us suppose that the habitants of a country...find it just worth while to keep by themon the average ready purchasing power to the extent of tenth part of their annual income，together with a fiftieth part of their property;then the aggregate value of the currency of the country will tend to be equal to the sumof these amounts.Let us suppose that their incomes aggregate in value to five million quarters of wheat and their property to twenty-five millions.Then the total value of the currency will be a million quarters of wheat....If then the currency contains a million units，each will be worth a quarter of wheat;if it contains two million，each will be worth half a quarter.”^[27]