IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/red/issued/11-290.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Fragility of Competitive Equilibrium with Risk of Default

Author

Listed:
  • Gaetano Bloise

    (University of Rome III)

  • Pietro Reichlin

    (LUISS)

  • Mario Tirelli

    (University of Rome III)

Abstract

We study competitive equilibrium in sequential economies under limited commitment. Default induces permanent exclusion from financial markets and endogenously determined solvency constraints prevent debt repudiation. Our analysis shows that such an enforcement mechanism is essentially fragile, leading to equilibrium multiplicity. We accomplish this by establishing Welfare Theorems under a weaker notion of constrained efficiency, inspired by Malinvaud, corresponding to the absence of welfare mproving feasible redistributions over finite (though indefinite) horizons. A Negishi's Method permits to show that, for any arbitrary value of social welfare in between autarchy and constrained optimality, there exists an equilibrium attaining that value. Thus, competitive equilibria might differ dramatically in terms of volumes of trade, asset price volatility, individuals' ability to insure against idiosyncratic risk and consumption inequality. (Copyright: Elsevier)

Suggested Citation

  • Gaetano Bloise & Pietro Reichlin & Mario Tirelli, 2013. "Fragility of Competitive Equilibrium with Risk of Default," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 16(2), pages 271-295, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:red:issued:11-290
    DOI: 10.1010/j.red.2013.01.002
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.red.2013.01.002
    Download Restriction: Access to full texts is restricted to ScienceDirect subscribers and institutional members. See http://www.sciencedirect.com/ for details.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1010/j.red.2013.01.002?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dirk Krueger & Hanno Lustig & Fabrizio Perri, 2008. "Evaluating Asset Pricing Models with Limited Commitment Using Household Consumption Data," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 6(2-3), pages 715-726, 04-05.
    2. Manuel S. Santos & Michael Woodford, 1997. "Rational Asset Pricing Bubbles," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 65(1), pages 19-58, January.
    3. Alvarez, Fernando & Jermann, Urban J, 2001. "Quantitative Asset Pricing Implications of Endogenous Solvency Constraints," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 14(4), pages 1117-1151.
    4. Bulow, Jeremy & Rogoff, Kenneth, 1989. "Sovereign Debt: Is to Forgive to Forget?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(1), pages 43-50, March.
    5. Levine, David K. & Zame, William R., 1996. "Debt constraints and equilibrium in infinite horizon economies with incomplete markets," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 103-131.
    6. Timothy J. Kehoe & David K. Levine, 1993. "Debt-Constrained Asset Markets," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 60(4), pages 865-888.
    7. Balasko, Yves & Shell, Karl, 1980. "The overlapping-generations model, I: The case of pure exchange without money," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 281-306, December.
    8. Dirk Krueger & Fabrizio Perri, 2006. "Does Income Inequality Lead to Consumption Inequality? Evidence and Theory -super-1," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 73(1), pages 163-193.
    9. Fernando Alvarez & Urban J. Jermann, 2000. "Efficiency, Equilibrium, and Asset Pricing with Risk of Default," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 68(4), pages 775-798, July.
    10. Bidian, Florin & Bejan, Camelia, 2011. "Supplement to ``Martingale properties of self-enforcing debt''," MPRA Paper 36610, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 12 Feb 2012.
    11. Christian Hellwig & Guido Lorenzoni, 2009. "Bubbles and Self-Enforcing Debt," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 77(4), pages 1137-1164, July.
    12. Florin Bidian & Camelia Bejan, 2015. "Martingale properties of self-enforcing debt," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 60(1), pages 35-57, September.
    13. Ábrahám, Árpád & Cárceles-Poveda, Eva, 2010. "Endogenous trading constraints with incomplete asset markets," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 145(3), pages 974-1004, May.
    14. Kehoe, Patrick J. & Perri, Fabrizio, 2004. "Competitive equilibria with limited enforcement," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 119(1), pages 184-206, November.
    15. Gaetano Antinolfi & Costas Azariadis & James B. Bullard, 2007. "Monetary policy as equilibrium selection," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, vol. 89(Jul), pages 331-342.
    16. Kocherlakota, Narayana, 2008. "Injecting rational bubbles," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 142(1), pages 218-232, September.
    17. Benveniste, L M & Scheinkman, J A, 1979. "On the Differentiability of the Value Function in Dynamic Models of Economics," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 47(3), pages 727-732, May.
    18. Kehoe, Timothy J & Levine, David K, 2001. "Liquidity Constrained Markets versus Debt Constrained Markets," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 69(3), pages 575-598, May.
    19. Lars Ljungqvist & Thomas J. Sargent, 2004. "Recursive Macroeconomic Theory, 2nd Edition," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 026212274x, December.
    20. Jonathan Eaton & Mark Gersovitz, 1981. "Debt with Potential Repudiation: Theoretical and Empirical Analysis," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 48(2), pages 289-309.
    21. Narayana R. Kocherlakota, 1996. "Implications of Efficient Risk Sharing without Commitment," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 63(4), pages 595-609.
    22. Aliprantis, Charalambos D & Brown, Donald J & Burkinshaw, Owen, 1990. "Valuation and Optimality in the Overlapping Generations Model," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 31(2), pages 275-288, May.
    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. Bidian, Florin, 2016. "Robust bubbles with mild penalties for default," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 141-153.
    2. Victor Filipe Martins da Rocha & Yiannis Vailakis, 2015. "Constrained Efficiency Without Commitment," Working Papers hal-01097121, HAL.
    3. Zachary Bethune & Tai-Wei Hu & Guillaume Rocheteau, 2018. "Optimal Credit Cycles," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 27, pages 231-245, January.
    4. Martins-da-Rocha, V. Filipe & Vailakis, Yiannis, 2015. "Constrained efficiency without commitment," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 276-286.
    5. Beker, Pablo F. & Espino, Emilio, 2015. "Short-Term Momentum and LongTerm Reversal of Returns under Limited Enforceability and Belief Heterogeneity," Economic Research Papers 269729, University of Warwick - Department of Economics.
    6. Florin Bidian & Camelia Bejan, 2015. "Martingale properties of self-enforcing debt," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 60(1), pages 35-57, September.
    7. Victor Filipe Martins da Rocha & Toan Phan & Yiannis Vailakis, 2019. "Debt Limits and Credit Bubbles in General Equilibrium," Post-Print hal-02429759, HAL.
    8. Bethune, Zachary & Hu, Tai-Wei & Rocheteau, Guillaume, 2018. "Indeterminacy in credit economies," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 556-584.
    9. Beker, Pablo F & Espino, Emilio, 2013. "Too Good to Be True: Asset Pricing Implications of Pessimism," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1031, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    10. Beker, Pablo F. & Espino, Emilio, 2013. "Too Good to Be True: Asset Pricing Implications of Pessimism," Economic Research Papers 270428, University of Warwick - Department of Economics.
    11. Gaetano Bloise, 2013. "The structure of competitive equilibrium with unsecured debt," Departmental Working Papers of Economics - University 'Roma Tre' 0187, Department of Economics - University Roma Tre.

    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. Florin Bidian & Camelia Bejan, 2015. "Martingale properties of self-enforcing debt," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 60(1), pages 35-57, September.
    2. Gaetano Bloise, 2013. "The structure of competitive equilibrium with unsecured debt," Departmental Working Papers of Economics - University 'Roma Tre' 0187, Department of Economics - University Roma Tre.
    3. Bejan, Camelia & Bidian, Florin, 2010. "Limited enforcement, bubbles and trading in incomplete markets," MPRA Paper 36819, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 20 Feb 2012.
    4. Bidian, Florin, 2016. "Robust bubbles with mild penalties for default," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 141-153.
    5. Miao, Jianjun & Zhang, Yuzhe, 2015. "A duality approach to continuous-time contracting problems with limited commitment," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 159(PB), pages 929-988.
    6. V. Filipe Martins-Da-Rocha & Toan Phan & Yiannis Vailakis, 2022. "Pecuniary Externalities in Competitive Economies with Limited Pledgeability," Working Papers hal-03909596, HAL.
    7. Victor Filipe Martins da Rocha & Toan Phan & Yiannis Vailakis, 2019. "Debt Limits and Credit Bubbles in General Equilibrium," Post-Print hal-02429759, HAL.
    8. Azariadis, Costas & Kaas, Leo, 2013. "Endogenous credit limits with small default costs," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 148(2), pages 806-824.
    9. Yili Chien & Junsang Lee, 2006. "Why Tax Capital?," 2006 Meeting Papers 492, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    10. Christian Hellwig & Guido Lorenzoni, 2009. "Bubbles and Self-Enforcing Debt," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 77(4), pages 1137-1164, July.
    11. Bejan, Camelia & Bidian, Florin, 2014. "Bubbles and trading in incomplete markets," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 137-144.
    12. Bloise, Gaetano & Reichlin, Pietro, 2011. "Asset prices, debt constraints and inefficiency," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 146(4), pages 1520-1546, July.
    13. Bloise, Gaetano & Polemarchakis, Herakles & Vailakis, Yiannis, 2018. "Sustainable Debt," CRETA Online Discussion Paper Series 45, Centre for Research in Economic Theory and its Applications CRETA.
    14. Grochulski, Borys & Zhang, Yuzhe, 2011. "Optimal risk sharing and borrowing constraints in a continuous-time model with limited commitment," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 146(6), pages 2356-2388.
    15. S. Viswanathan & Adriano A. Rampini, 2008. "Collateral, Financial Intermediation, and the Distribution of Debt Capacity," 2008 Meeting Papers 116, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    16. Bloise, Gaetano & Polemarchakis, Herakles & Vailakis, Yiannis, 2017. "Sovereign debt and incentives to default with uninsurable risks," Theoretical Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 12(3), September.
    17. Victor Filipe Martins da Rocha & Yiannis Vailakis, 2014. "Self-enforcing Debt, Reputation, and the Role of Interest Rates," Working Papers hal-01097114, HAL.
    18. Gaetano Bloise & Pietro Reichlin & Mario Tirelli, 2009. "Indeterminacy Of Competitive Equilibrium With Risk Of Default," Levine's Working Paper Archive 814577000000000313, David K. Levine.
    19. Gao, Xiang, 2009. "Private Debt with Default Risk within and across Border," MPRA Paper 17126, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    20. Filipe Martins da Rocha & Yiannis Vailakis, 2017. "Borrowing in Excess of Natural Ability to Repay," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 23, pages 42-59, January.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Limited commitment; Solvency constraints; Malinvaud efficiency; Welfare Theorems; Negishi's Method; Indeterminacy; Market collapse;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D50 - Microeconomics - - General Equilibrium and Disequilibrium - - - General
    • D52 - Microeconomics - - General Equilibrium and Disequilibrium - - - Incomplete Markets
    • D61 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Allocative Efficiency; Cost-Benefit Analysis
    • E44 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy
    • G13 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Contingent Pricing; Futures Pricing

    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:red:issued:11-290. 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: Christian Zimmermann (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/sedddea.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.