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Sticky Prices And Costly Credit

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  • Liang Wang
  • Randall Wright
  • Lucy Qian Liu

Abstract

We develop a theory of money and credit as competing payment instruments, then put it to work in applications. Agents use cash and credit because the former (latter) is subject to the inflation tax (transaction costs). Frictions that make the choice of payment method interesting also imply equilibrium price dispersion. We derive closed‐form solutions for money demand, and show how to simultaneously account for the price‐change facts, cash–credit shares in micro data, and money‐interest correlations in macro data. The effects of inflation on welfare, price dispersion and markups are discussed, as are nonstationary equilibria with dynamics in the price distribution.

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  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:iecrev:v:61:y:2020:i:1:p:37-70
    DOI: 10.1111/iere.12416
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    Cited by:

    1. Han, Han & Julien, Benoît & Petursdottir, Asgerdur & Wang, Liang, 2019. "Asset liquidity and indivisibility," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 236-250.
    2. Alvarez, Fernando & Argente, David & Jimenez, Rafael & Lippi, Francesco, 2022. "Cash: A Blessing or a curse?," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 85-128.
    3. Lotz, Sébastien & Zhang, Cathy, 2016. "Money and credit as means of payment: A new monetarist approach," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 68-100.
    4. Benoit Julien & Asgerdur Petursdottir & Liang Wang, 2014. "Monetary Equilibria with Indivisible Goods," Working Papers 201428, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Economics.
    5. Wang, Liang, 2016. "Endogenous search, price dispersion, and welfare," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 94-117.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • E42 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Monetary Sytsems; Standards; Regimes; Government and the Monetary System
    • E51 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Money Supply; Credit; Money Multipliers
    • E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy

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