Change and Coins in Daily Spending in Brazil

Every few years in the US, it seems, the debate over whether we should keep the penny or not pops up. Some argue against keeping the penny, claiming (probably rightly, though I've never done enough research on it to care) that the cost of producing the penny outweighs any benefits. Others counter, however, that to get rid of the penny would be a bad idea, for it would only lead to the increase of prices (something that even retailers are against, because, in the consumer mind, $12.99 is twelve dollars, but $13.00 is just 13).

However, Brazil has actually offered some fascinating insight into this debate for me. The change system here works so different, that it actually offers insight into life without a penny. Technically, there is a one-cent piece in Brazil, but nobody uses it. Instead, the market economy here at the microlevel operates on what can only be described as the "close enough" model. For example, if you go to the grocery store, and your groceries total 13.03, you only have to give 13.00 to the cashier - the three cents doesn't matter. Or, conversely, if your groceries total 12.97, you give the cashier 13 reais, and don't worry about the three cents you're not getting back. Everybody basically assumes that it all balances out in the end - sometimes, you pay a few cents more than you owe, but sometimes you pay a few cents less, and it comes out about 50/50. The funny thing is, from all of my observations, that's about correct. In all my experiences, it has come out about 50/50.

Thus, the economy here at the microlevel is actually neither "formal" nor "informal" in terms of change. It's not so formal that you have to pay exact change or get exact change back (indeed, this is one of the most obvious ways to spot tourists - they wait for that three cents, or feel they should pay it if they have it). Nor is it totally informal. You can't just give 20 reais when you owe 20.75. Thus, it's just "close enough" - "well, it SAYS I owe 19.34, but I only have 19.30 - is that OK?" "Yeah, close enough."

I have no idea how the registers balance out at the end of the day at stores (whether they are just a few cents off overall, or a few reais over, or under, or just all over the place), and indeed, it would be great if some economy or economic anthropology student would study this. However, for those who feel that phasing out the use of the penny in the states would be negative on the market economy at the local level, Brazil certainly offers some fascinating alternatives, not just in terms of how monetary units can operate semi-formally, but also in how Americans are perhaps a little too uptight about exact change (especially the elderly people who are always directly in front of me at the grocery store, but that's another matter altogether...)