Keynes Argued That People Hold Money for Speculative Reason

Essay

Keynes argued that people hold money for speculative reason. He stressed the choice between money and bonds. If agents expect the future nominal interest rate (the return on bonds) to be lower than the current rate they will then reduce their holdings of money and increase their holdings of bonds. If the future interest rate does fall, then the price of bonds will increase and the agents will have realized a capital gain on the bonds they purchased. This means that the demand for money in any period will depend on both the current nominal interest rate and the expected future interest rate. What implications does this have with respect to the volatility of money?