IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/fip/fedgfe/2018-46.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Self-confirming Price Dispersion in Monetary Economies

Author

Abstract

In a monetary economy, we show that price dispersion arises as an equilibrium outcome without the need for costly simultaneous search or any heterogeneity in preferences, production costs, or search technologies. A distribution of money holdings among buyers makes sellers indifferent across a set of posted prices, leading to a non-degenerate price distribution. This price distribution, in turn, makes buyers indifferent across a range of money balances, rationalizing the non-degenerate distribution of money holdings. We completely characterize the distribution of posted prices and money holdings in any equilibrium. Equilibria with price dispersion admit higher maximum prices than observed in any single-price equilibrium. Also, price dispersion reduces welfare by creating mismatch between posted prices and money balances. Inflation exacerbates this welfare loss by shifting the distribution towards higher prices.

Suggested Citation

  • Garth Baughman & Stanislav Rabinovich, 2018. "Self-confirming Price Dispersion in Monetary Economies," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2018-046, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedgfe:2018-46
    DOI: 10.17016/FEDS.2018.046
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/feds/files/2018046pap.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.17016/FEDS.2018.046?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Claire Greene & Scott Schuh & Joanna Stavins, 2017. "The 2015 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice: summary results," Research Data Report 17-3, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
    2. Wang, Liang, 2016. "Endogenous search, price dispersion, and welfare," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 94-117.
    3. Rabinovich Stanislav, 2017. "Revisiting Multiplicity of Bubble Equilibria in a Search Model with Posted Prices," The B.E. Journal of Theoretical Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 17(1), pages 1-15, January.
    4. Miguel Molico, 2006. "The Distribution Of Money And Prices In Search Equilibrium," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 47(3), pages 701-722, August.
    5. Ricardo Lagos & Randall Wright, 2005. "A Unified Framework for Monetary Theory and Policy Analysis," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 113(3), pages 463-484, June.
    6. Greg Kaplan & Guido Menzio & Leena Rudanko & Nicholas Trachter, 2019. "Relative Price Dispersion: Evidence and Theory," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 11(3), pages 68-124, August.
    7. Cynthia L. Doniger & J. David López-Salido, 2017. "Hysteresis via Endogenous Rigidity in Wages and Participation," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2017-044, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    8. Green, Edward J. & Zhou, Ruilin, 1998. "A Rudimentary Random-Matching Model with Divisible Money and Prices," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 81(2), pages 252-271, August.
    9. Menzio, Guido & Shi, Shouyong & Sun, Hongfei, 2013. "A monetary theory with non-degenerate distributions," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 148(6), pages 2266-2312.
    10. John Kareken & Neil Wallace, 1981. "On the Indeterminacy of Equilibrium Exchange Rates," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 96(2), pages 207-222.
    11. Albrecht, James W & Axell, Bo, 1984. "An Equilibrium Model of Search Unemployment," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 92(5), pages 824-840, October.
    12. Guido Menzio & Nicholas Trachter, 2018. "Equilibrium Price Dispersion Across and Within Stores," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 28, pages 205-220, April.
    13. Menzio, Guido & Trachter, Nicholas, 2015. "Equilibrium price dispersion with sequential search," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 188-215.
    14. Allen Head & Lucy Qian Liu & Guido Menzio & Randall Wright, 2012. "Sticky Prices: A New Monetarist Approach," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 10(5), pages 939-973, October.
    15. Zhou, Ruilin, 2003. "Does commodity money eliminate the indeterminacy of equilibrium?," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 110(1), pages 176-190, May.
    16. Burdett, Kenneth & Menzio, Guido, 2017. "The (Q,S,s) pricing rule: a quantitative analysis," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(4), pages 784-797.
    17. Han Han & Benoit Julien & Asgerdur Petursdottir & Liang Wang, 2017. "Asset Pricing Equilibria with Indivisible Goods," Working Papers 201705, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Economics.
    18. Jean, Kasie & Rabinovich, Stanislav & Wright, Randall, 2010. "On the multiplicity of monetary equilibria: Green-Zhou meets Lagos-Wright," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 145(1), pages 392-401, January.
    19. Zachary Bethune & Michael Choi & Randall Wright, 2020. "Frictional Goods Markets: Theory and Applications," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 87(2), pages 691-720.
    20. Benjamin Lester, 2011. "Information and Prices with Capacity Constraints," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(4), pages 1591-1600, June.
    21. Liang Wang & Randall Wright & Lucy Qian Liu, 2017. "Money and Credit: Theory and Applications," IMF Working Papers 2017/014, International Monetary Fund.
    22. Sargent, Thomas J & Wallace, Neil, 1975. ""Rational" Expectations, the Optimal Monetary Instrument, and the Optimal Money Supply Rule," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 83(2), pages 241-254, April.
    23. Burdett, Kenneth & Judd, Kenneth L, 1983. "Equilibrium Price Dispersion," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 51(4), pages 955-969, July.
    24. Diamond, Peter A., 1971. "A model of price adjustment," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 3(2), pages 156-168, June.
    25. Roland Benabou, 1988. "Search, Price Setting and Inflation," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 55(3), pages 353-376.
    26. Galenianos, Manolis & Kircher, Philipp, 2008. "A model of money with multilateral matching," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(6), pages 1054-1066, September.
    27. David Malueg, 2010. "Mixed-strategy equilibria in the Nash Demand Game," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 44(2), pages 243-270, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Baughman, Garth & Rabinovich, Stanislav, 2021. "Capacity choice, monetary trade, and the cost of inflation," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Williamson, Stephen & Wright, Randall, 2010. "New Monetarist Economics: Models," Handbook of Monetary Economics, in: Benjamin M. Friedman & Michael Woodford (ed.), Handbook of Monetary Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 2, pages 25-96, Elsevier.
    2. Burdett, Kenneth & Trejos, Alberto & Wright, Randall, 2017. "A new suggestion for simplifying the theory of money," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 423-450.
    3. Jean, Kasie & Rabinovich, Stanislav & Wright, Randall, 2010. "On the multiplicity of monetary equilibria: Green-Zhou meets Lagos-Wright," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 145(1), pages 392-401, January.
    4. Menzio, Guido, 2024. "Search theory of imperfect competition with decreasing returns to scale," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 218(C).
    5. Stephen D. Williamson & Randall Wright, 2010. "New monetarist economics: methods," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, vol. 92(May), pages 265-302.
    6. Andres Drenik, 2017. "Pricing in Multiple Currencies in Domestic Markets," 2017 Meeting Papers 1418, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    7. Rabinovich Stanislav, 2017. "Revisiting Multiplicity of Bubble Equilibria in a Search Model with Posted Prices," The B.E. Journal of Theoretical Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 17(1), pages 1-15, January.
    8. Burdett, Kenneth & Menzio, Guido, 2017. "The (Q,S,s) pricing rule: a quantitative analysis," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(4), pages 784-797.
    9. Böheim, René & Hackl, Franz & Hölzl-Leitner, Michael, 2021. "The impact of price adjustment costs on price dispersion in e-commerce," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    10. Chahrour, Ryan & Stevens, Luminita, 2020. "Price dispersion and the border effect," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 135-146.
    11. Shouyong Shi, 2006. "A Microfoundation of Monetary Economics," Working Papers tecipa-211, University of Toronto, Department of Economics.
    12. Liang Wang & Randall Wright & Lucy Qian Liu, 2020. "Sticky Prices And Costly Credit," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 61(1), pages 37-70, February.
    13. Kenneth Burdett & Guido Menzio, 2018. "The (Q,S,s) Pricing Rule," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 85(2), pages 892-928.
    14. Wang, Liang, 2016. "Endogenous search, price dispersion, and welfare," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 94-117.
    15. Rao, Neel, 2022. "Search equilibrium with unobservable investment," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 300-330.
    16. Lucas Herrenbrueck, 2018. "Instability of endogenous price dispersion equilibria: A simulation," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 51(4), pages 1363-1385, November.
    17. Han, Han & Julien, Benoît & Petursdottir, Asgerdur & Wang, Liang, 2016. "Equilibrium using credit or money with indivisible goods," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 152-163.
    18. Kubota, So & 久保田, 荘, 2019. "Market Structure and Indeterminacy of Stationary Equilibria in a Decentralized Monetary Economy," Discussion paper series HIAS-E-84, Hitotsubashi Institute for Advanced Study, Hitotsubashi University.
    19. Gu, Chao & Wright, Randall, 2016. "Monetary mechanisms," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 644-657.
    20. Shi, Shouyong, 2023. "Sequentially mixed search and equilibrium price dispersion," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 213(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Inflation; Money; Price dispersion; Search;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D43 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Oligopoly and Other Forms of Market Imperfection
    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • E40 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - General

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:fip:fedgfe:2018-46. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Ryan Wolfslayer ; Keisha Fournillier (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/frbgvus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.