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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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  • Ross Starr

    (University of California)

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

  • Ross Starr, 2000. "Why is there Money? Convergence to a Monetary Equilibrium in a General Equilibrium Model with Transaction Costs," Econometric Society World Congress 2000 Contributed Papers 0058, Econometric Society.
    • Handle: RePEc:ecm:wc2000:0058
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Abhijit V. Banerjee & Eric S. Maskin, 1996. "A Walrasian Theory of Money," Harvard Institute of Economic Research Working Papers 1753, Harvard - Institute of Economic Research.
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    6. 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.
    7. David Starrett, 1973. "Inefficiency and the Demand for "Money" in a Sequence Economy," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 40(4), pages 437-448.
    8. Meenakshi Rajeev, 1999. "Markeless Set-Up vs Trading Posts : A Comparative Analysis," Annals of Economics and Statistics, GENES, issue 53, pages 197-211.
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    12. Abhijit V. Banerjee & Eric S. Maskin, 1996. "A Walrasian Theory of Money and Barter," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 111(4), pages 955-1005.
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    Cited by:

    1. Cochrane, John H., 2005. "Money as stock," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(3), pages 501-528, April.

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