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Endogenous Search, Price Dispersion, and Welfare

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  • Liang Wang

    (University of Hawaii at Manoa)

Abstract

This paper studies the welfare cost of inflation in a frictional monetary economy with endogenous price dispersion, which is generated by sellers posting prices and buyers costly searching for low prices. We identify three channels through which inflation affects welfare. The interaction of real balance channel and price posting channel generates a welfare cost, at 10% annual inflation, equal to 3.23% of steady state consumption; if either channel is shut down, the welfare cost decreases to less than 0.15%. Search channel reduces welfare cost by more than 50%. The aggregate effect of inflation on welfare is nonmonotonic.

Suggested Citation

  • Liang Wang, 2014. "Endogenous Search, Price Dispersion, and Welfare," Working Papers 201429, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hai:wpaper:201429
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Hongfei Sun & Chenggang Zhou, 2018. "Monetary and fiscal policies in a heterogeneous‐agent economy," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 51(3), pages 747-783, August.
    2. 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.
    3. Ayman Mnasri & Beverly Lapham, 2023. "A competitive search approach to exchange rate pass-through," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 76(1), pages 153-201, July.
    4. Lucy Qian Liu & Liang Wang & Randall Wright, 2015. "Costly Credit and Sticky Prices," Working Papers 201505, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Economics.
    5. Aleksander Berentsen & Samuel Huber & Alessandro Marchesiani, 2018. "Limited Commitment and the Demand for Money," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 128(610), pages 1128-1156, May.
    6. Baughman, Garth & Rabinovich, Stanislav, 2019. "Self-confirming price dispersion in monetary economies," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 284-311.
    7. 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.
    8. Beverly Lapham & Ayman Mnasri, 2019. "Exchange Rate Pass-Through: A Competitive Search Approach," Working Paper 1418, Economics Department, Queen's University.
    9. Geromichalos, Athanasios & Jung, Kuk Mo, 2024. "Heterogeneous asset valuation in OTC markets and optimal inflation," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Nash Bargaining; Competitive Search; Indivisibility; Multiplicity; Uniqueness;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D51 - Microeconomics - - General Equilibrium and Disequilibrium - - - Exchange and Production Economies
    • E40 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - General

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