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The cost of inflation: A mechanism design approach

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  • Rocheteau, Guillaume

Abstract

I apply mechanism design to quantify the cost of inflation that can be attributed to monetary frictions alone. In an environment with pairwise meetings, the money demand that is consistent with an optimal, incentive feasible allocation takes the form of a continuous correspondence that can fit the data over the period 1900–2006. For such parameterizations, the cost of moderate inflation is zero. This result is robust to the introduction of match-specific heterogeneity and endogenous participation decisions.

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  • Rocheteau, Guillaume, 2012. "The cost of inflation: A mechanism design approach," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 147(3), pages 1261-1279.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jetheo:v:147:y:2012:i:3:p:1261-1279
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jet.2012.01.016
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    Cited by:

    1. Manjong Lee & Sung Guan Yun, 2014. "Composition of Portfolio and Cost of Inflation," Discussion Paper Series 1403, Institute of Economic Research, Korea University.
    2. Bajaj, Ayushi & Hu, Tai-Wei & Rocheteau, Guillaume & Silva, Mario Rafael, 2017. "Decentralizing constrained-efficient allocations in the Lagos–Wright pure currency economy," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 1-13.
    3. Seon Tae Kim & Alessandro Marchesiani, 2024. "Market intelligence gathering, asymmetric information, and the instability of money demand," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 62(3), pages 1216-1245, July.
    4. Fernández-Villaverde, Jesús & Sanches, Daniel, 2019. "Can currency competition work?," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 1-15.
    5. Jonathan Chiu & Tsz-Nga Wong, 2015. "On the Essentiality of E-Money," Staff Working Papers 15-43, Bank of Canada.
    6. Anbarci, Nejat & Dutu, Richard & Feltovich, Nick, 2015. "Inflation tax in the lab: a theoretical and experimental study of competitive search equilibrium with inflation," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 17-33.
    7. Athanasios Geromichalos & Kuk Mo Jung, 2019. "Monetary policy and efficiency in over‐the‐counter financial trade," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 52(4), pages 1699-1754, November.
    8. Hu, Tai-Wei & Rocheteau, Guillaume, 2013. "On the coexistence of money and higher-return assets and its social role," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 148(6), pages 2520-2560.
    9. van Buggenum, Hugo & Rabinovich, Stanislav, 2023. "Co-essentiality of money and credit: A mechanism-design view," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 213(C).
    10. Dong, Mei & Jiang, Janet Hua, 2014. "Money and price posting under private information," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 740-777.
    11. Baughman, Garth & Rabinovich, Stanislav, 2021. "Capacity choice, monetary trade, and the cost of inflation," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    12. Wong, Tsz-Nga, 2016. "Monetary exchange and the irreducible cost of inflation," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 218-229.
    13. Tai‐Wei Hu & Guillaume Rocheteau, 2015. "Monetary Policy and Asset Prices: A Mechanism Design Approach," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 47(S2), pages 39-76, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Cost of inflation; Pairwise trades; Optimal mechanism;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • E40 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - General
    • E50 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - General

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