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A dictum for monetary theory

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  • Neil Wallace

Abstract

A dictum for monetary theory; This essay argues that monetary theories should not contain an undefined object labeled money. Among existing theories that do not satisfy that dictum are models which assume that real balances are arguments of utility or production functions and models which assume cash-in-advance constraints. A main weakness of theories that do not satisfy the dictum is that they cannot address questions about which objects constitute money. Theories that do satisfy the dictum are those which specify assets by their physical properties and which permit the assets_ role in exchange to be endogenous. The essay briefly describes one such theory, a random matching model with assets that differ according to whether they throw off real dividends. This essay is reprinted, with permission, from the book Foundations of Research in Economics: How Do Economists Do Economics? (ed. Steven Medema and Warren Samuels), Cheltenham, U.K.: Edward Elgar Publishing, 1996.

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  • Neil Wallace, 1998. "A dictum for monetary theory," Quarterly Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, vol. 22(Win), pages 20-26.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedmqr:y:1998:i:win:p:20-26:n:v.22no.1
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    1. Levine, David K., 1991. "Asset trading mechanisms and expansionary policy," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 148-164, June.
    2. Rao Aiyagari, S. & Wallace, Neil & Wright, Randall, 1996. "Coexistence of money and interest-bearing securities," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 397-419, June.
    3. Duffie, Darrell, 1990. "Money in general equilibrium theory," Handbook of Monetary Economics, in: B. M. Friedman & F. H. Hahn (ed.), Handbook of Monetary Economics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 3, pages 81-100, Elsevier.
    4. Paul A. Samuelson, 1958. "An Exact Consumption-Loan Model of Interest with or without the Social Contrivance of Money," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 66(6), pages 467-467.
    5. William J. Baumol, 1952. "The Transactions Demand for Cash: An Inventory Theoretic Approach," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 66(4), pages 545-556.
    6. Kiyotaki, Nobuhiro & Wright, Randall, 1989. "On Money as a Medium of Exchange," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 97(4), pages 927-954, August.
    7. 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.
    8. S. Rao Aiyagari & Neil Wallace, 1991. "Existence of Steady States with Positive Consumption in the Kiyotaki-Wright Model," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 58(5), pages 901-916.
    9. Ostroy, Joseph M, 1973. "The Informational Efficiency of Monetary Exchange," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 63(4), pages 597-610, September.
    10. Shi Shougong, 1995. "Money and Prices: A Model of Search and Bargaining," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 67(2), pages 467-496, December.
    11. Hellwig, Martin F., 1993. "The challenge of monetary theory," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(2-3), pages 215-242, April.
    12. Sargent, Thomas J & Wallace, Neil, 1982. "The Real-Bills Doctrine versus the Quantity Theory: A Reconsideration," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 90(6), pages 1212-1236, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Williamson, Stephen D., 2008. "Monetary policy and distribution," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(6), pages 1038-1053, September.
    2. Lagos, Ricardo, 2010. "Asset prices and liquidity in an exchange economy," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(8), pages 913-930, November.
    3. Martin, Fernando M., 2011. "On the joint determination of fiscal and monetary policy," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 132-145, March.
    4. Duffy, John, 2001. "Learning to speculate: Experiments with artificial and real agents," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 25(3-4), pages 295-319, March.
    5. Fernando M. Martin, 2011. "Lagos-Wright vs. Cash-in-Advance: Government Policy Response to War-Expenditure Shocks," 2011 Meeting Papers 745, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    6. 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.
    7. Aleksander Berentsen & Gabriele Camera & C hristopher W aller, 2005. "The Distribution Of Money Balances And The Nonneutrality Of Money," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 46(2), pages 465-487, May.
    8. Gutierrez, Pedro J., 2006. "Short-run and long-run effects of monetary policy in a general equilibrium model with bank reserves," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 597-621, July.
    9. Stephen D. Williamson & Randall Wright, 2010. "New monetarist economics: methods," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, vol. 92(May), pages 265-302.
    10. 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.
    11. Guillaume Rocheteau & Lucie Lebeau & Tai-Wei Hu & Younghwan In, 2018. "Gradual Bargaining in Decentralized Asset Markets," Working Papers 181904, University of California-Irvine, Department of Economics.
    12. Camera, G., 2001. "Search, Dealers, and the Terms of Trade," Purdue University Economics Working Papers 1140, Purdue University, Department of Economics.
    13. D. Aliprantis, C. & Camera, G. & Puzzello, D., 2007. "Anonymous markets and monetary trading," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(7), pages 1905-1928, October.
    14. Sissoko, Carolyn, 2007. "An Idealized View of Financial Intermediation," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 1, pages 1-29.
    15. Allan Hernández, 2008. "Los modelos del dinero endógeno: la evolución de los modelos monetarios de búsqueda," Revista de Economía del Rosario, Universidad del Rosario, November.
    16. Wilfredo Toledo, 2006. "El dinero en los modelos macroeconómicos," Revista de Economía Institucional, Universidad Externado de Colombia - Facultad de Economía, vol. 8(15), pages 97-116, July-Dece.
    17. Camera, Gabriele & Reed, Robert R. & Waller, Christopher J., 2003. "Can monetizing trade lower welfare? An example," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 81(2), pages 179-186, November.
    18. Paul De Grauwe & Magdalena Polan, 2014. "Is Inflation always and Everywhere a Monetary Phenomenon?," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Exchange Rates and Global Financial Policies, chapter 14, pages 357-382, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    19. Ben R. Craig & Christopher J. Waller, 2000. "Dual-currency economies as multiple-payment systems," Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, issue Q I, pages 2-13.
    20. Gu, Chao & Monnet, Cyril & Nosal, Ed & Wright, Randall, 2023. "Diamond–Dybvig and beyond: On the instability of banking," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    21. John Duffy, 1998. "Monetary theory in the laboratory," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, issue Sep, pages 9-26.

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    Monetary theory;

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