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Welfare costs of inflation and the circulation of US currency abroad

Author

Listed:
  • Alessandro Calza

    (European Central Bank)

  • Andrea Zaghini

    (Bank of Italy)

Abstract

Empirical studies of the shoe-leather costs of inflation are typically computed using M1 as a measure of money. Yet, official data on M1 includes all currency issued, regardless of the country of residence of the holder. Using adjusted monetary data, we show that the failure to control for currency held by non residents may lead to significantly overestimating the welfare costs for the domestic economy. In particular, our estimates of shoe-leather costs are minimized for a positive but moderate value of the inflation rate, thereby justifying a deviation from the Friedman rule in favour of the Fed�s current policy.

Suggested Citation

  • Alessandro Calza & Andrea Zaghini, 2011. "Welfare costs of inflation and the circulation of US currency abroad," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 812, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    • Handle: RePEc:bdi:wptemi:td_812_11
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. The shoe-leather cost of inflation is minimal
      by Economic Logician in Economic Logic on 2011-05-21 19:51:00

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    Cited by:

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    3. Geoffrey R. Dunbar & Casey Jones, 2018. "The (Un)Demand for Money in Canada," Staff Working Papers 18-20, Bank of Canada.
    4. Matteo Mogliani & Giovanni Urga, 2018. "On the Instability of Long‐Run Money Demand and the Welfare Cost of Inflation in the United States," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 50(7), pages 1645-1660, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Welfare cost of inflation; flow of funds data; US currency abroad;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • E41 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Demand for Money
    • E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy

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