– why do we need physical dollars and coins? Wouldn’t it be cheaper for the system as a whole to have the dollar be an entirely digital currency and wouldn’t this be better on the environment?
In: Economics
One of the more interesting and subtle things about physical money is that it seems to subconsciously trigger better ethical behavior at times. (See Dan Arielly’s *Predictably Irrational*) By extension, virtual money doesn’t trigger the same level of spending awareness, which in turn could end up manifesting more debt spending downstream, which could even possibly cause negative pressures on the environment as more people would then shift towards cheaper (and/or less safe) goods and products.
So, I’m not sure there is an easy answer on this one. I know I don’t have an answer. Sure, the Treasury would save on production, but how would it influence people’s economic habits? And how would we even truly measure that amidst all the confounding variables?
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