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Why is there Money? Convergence to a Monetary Equilibrium in a General Equilibrium Model with Transaction Costs

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  • Starr, Ross M.

Abstract

This paper presents a class of examples where a nonmonetary economy converges in a tatonnement process to a monetary equilibrium. Exchange takes place in organized markets characterized by an array of trading posts where each pair of goods may be traded for one another. A barter equilibrium with m commodities is characterized by m(m-1)/2 commodity pair trading posts, most of which host active trade. A monetary equilibrium with unique money is characterized by active trade concentrated on m-1 posts, those trading in 'money' versus the m-1 nonmonetary commodities. There are two distinct sources of monetization: absence of double coincidence of wants and scale economies in transaction costs. As households discover that some pairwise markets (those dealing in the 'natural' money or those with high trading volumes) have lower transaction costs, they restructure their trades to take advantage of the low cost. Use of media of exchange arises endogenously from their low transaction cost. Uniqueness of the medium of exchange in equilibrium results from scale economies in the transaction technology.

Suggested Citation

  • Starr, Ross M., 1999. "Why is there Money? Convergence to a Monetary Equilibrium in a General Equilibrium Model with Transaction Costs," University of California at San Diego, Economics Working Paper Series qt253553nn, Department of Economics, UC San Diego.
    • Handle: RePEc:cdl:ucsdec:qt253553nn
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Meenakshi Rajeev, 1999. "Markeless Set-Up vs Trading Posts : A Comparative Analysis," Annals of Economics and Statistics, GENES, issue 53, pages 197-211.
    2. Chichilnisky,Graciela (ed.), 1999. "Markets, Information and Uncertainty," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521553551, October.
    3. Ostroy, Joseph M & Starr, Ross M, 1974. "Money and the Decentralization of Exchange," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 42(6), pages 1093-1113, November.
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    6. Hahn, F H, 1971. "Equilibrium with Transaction Costs," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 39(3), pages 417-439, May.
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    8. Li, Yiting & Wright, Randall, 1998. "Government Transaction Policy, Media of Exchange, and Prices," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 81(2), pages 290-313, August.
    9. Ostroy, Joseph M. & Starr, Ross M., 1990. "The transactions role of money," Handbook of Monetary Economics, in: B. M. Friedman & F. H. Hahn (ed.), Handbook of Monetary Economics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 1, pages 3-62, Elsevier.
    10. Foley, Duncan K., 1970. "Economic equilibrium with costly marketing," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 2(3), pages 276-291, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Al-Jarhi, Mabid, 2002. "Macroeconomics: an Islamic Perspective," MPRA Paper 66938, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2004.
    2. Christian Hellwig, 2002. "Money, Intermediaries, and Cash-in-Advance Constraints (February 2003)," UCLA Economics Online Papers 207, UCLA Department of Economics.

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