Editing Unit of account (section)

===History===
Historic examples of units of measure include the [[livre tournois]], used in France from 1302 to 1794 whether or not livre coins were minted. In the 14th century Naples used the grossi gigliati, and Bohemia used the [[Prague groschen]]. (2021)

At any one time there might be two or three units of account in one region based on the local base, silver and sometimes gold coins, and each often expressed in [[£sd|L.S.D]] units in ratio 240:12:1. The [[Florin (Italian coin)|Florentine gold florin]], the [[Franc#Origins|French franc]] and the electoral [[rheingulden]] all became pounds (240 denari) of account. Units of account would often survive over 100 years despite the original coins changing composition and availability (e.g. the [[Kingdom of Castile|Castilian]] [[maravedi]]).<ref>{{cite book|author=Peter Spufford|year=1986|title=Handbook of medieval exchange—Introduction|page=xix|publisher=[[Royal Historical Society]] (Great Britain)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lz1pAAAAMAAJ&q=INTRODUCTION|isbn=9780861931057}}</ref>

In 1921, [[Henry Ford]] proposed the use of energy as the basis for currency instead of [[Gold standard|Gold Standard]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=MR. FORD'S ENERGY DOLLAR. |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1921/12/06/98768864.html?zoom=14.07 |access-date=2024-12-06 |work=The New York Times |language=en |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=FORD HOPES TO USE MUSCLE SHOALS AS STEP TO END WARS; Wants the Government to Issue Non-Interest Notes to Cover Cost of Completion. POWER WOULD BE SECURITY Plans to Show the World Natural Resources and Not GoldShould Be Behind Currency.BLAMES BANKERS' CONTROLPeace Will Come. He Says, WithBreaking of Gold Monopoly--Heand Edison Inspect Dam. Would Keep Gold for the Arts. Determined to End Wars. FORD WOULD USE SHOALS TO END WAR Would Simply Issue Currency. Would Use Power as Money Unit. Ford and Edison Inspect Dam. |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1921/12/04/107034685.html?zoom=14.030000000000001 |access-date=2024-12-06 |work=The New York Times |language=en |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> [[Thomas Edison]] similarly put forward commodities as a basis.<ref>{{cite web | title=Edison's Own Commodity-Standard Plan | website=The New York Times | date=1985-12-10 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/12/10/opinion/l-edison-s-own-commodity-standard-plan-215498.html | access-date=2024-12-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Patents and Paper Money | website=PMG | date=1939-01-16 | url=https://www.pmgnotes.com/news/article/6704/Thomas-Edison-Patents-and-Paper-Money/ | access-date=2024-12-06}}</ref> At the onset of the [[Great Depression]], John P. Norton restated the "Electric Dollars" standard alongside gold. <ref>{{Cite news |title=SCIENTISTS GET PLEA FOR ELECTRIC DOLLAR; Dr. J.P. Norton Offers It as a New Standard in Currency Supplementing Gold. KILOWATT HOUR AS A BASIS Unit's Stability Over Periods of 5 Years Cited in Address at Economists' Meeting. ELECTRIC DOLLAR URGED BY SCIENTIST |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1932/12/27/105896835.html?zoom=14.32 |access-date=2024-12-06 |work=The New York Times |language=en |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> 

A modern unit of account is the [[European Currency Unit]], used in the European Union from 1979 to 1998; its replacement in 1999, the [[Euro]], was also just a unit of account until the introduction of notes and coins in 2002.

Unit of account is the main way of calculating a carrier or ship owner's liability in relation to carriage of goods contracts in which the [[Hague-Visby Rules]] apply.{{Citation needed|date=March 2011}}

In economics, a standard unit of account is used for statistical purposes to describe economic activity. Indexes such as GDP and the CPI are so broad in their scope that compiling them would be impossible without a standard unit of account. After being compiled, these figures are often used to guide governmental policy; especially monetary and fiscal policy.

In calculating the [[opportunity cost]] of a policy, a standard unit of account allows for the creation of a [[composite good]]. A composite good is a theoretical abstraction that represents an aggregation of all other opportunities that are not realized by the first good. It allows an economic decision's benefits to be weighed against the costs of all other possible goods in that society, without having to refer to any directly. Often, this is most easily accomplished with money.