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Money, Price Dispersion and Welfare

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Author Info
Brian Peterson
Shouyong Shi

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Abstract

We introduce heterogeneous preferences into a tractable model of monetary search to generate price dispersion, and then examine the effects of money growth on price dispersion and welfare. With buyers' search intensity fixed, we find that money growth increases the range of (real) prices and lowers welfare as agents shift more of their consumption to less desirable goods. When buyers' search intensity is endogenous, multiple equilibria are possible. In the equilibrium with the highest welfare level, money growth reduces welfare and increases the range of prices, while having ambiguous effects on search intensity. However, there can be a welfare-inferior equilibrium in which an increase in money growth increases search intensity, increases welfare, and reduces the range of prices.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by University of Toronto, Department of Economics in its series Working Papers with number tecipa-191.

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Length: 25 pages
Date of creation: 13 Feb 2006
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Handle: RePEc:tor:tecipa:tecipa-191

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Related research
Keywords: Price dispersion Search Efficiency

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
D60 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - General

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Benabou, Roland, 1992. "Inflation and Efficiency in Search Markets," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 59(2), pages 299-329, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Burdett, Kenneth & Judd, Kenneth L, 1983. "Equilibrium Price Dispersion," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 51(4), pages 955-69, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Allen Head & Alok Kumar, 2005. "Price Dispersion, Inflation, And Welfare," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 46(2), pages 533-572, 05. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Guillaume Rocheteau & Ricardo Lagos, 2004. "Superneutrality and the welfare effects of inflation," 2004 Meeting Papers 93, Society for Economic Dynamics.
  5. Shouyong Shi, 1997. "A Divisible Search Model of Fiat Money," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 65(1), pages 75-102, January.
    Other versions:
  6. Lach, Saul & Tsiddon, Daniel, 1992. "The Behavior of Prices and Inflation: An Empirical Analysis of Disaggregated Price Data," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 100(2), pages 349-89, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Grandmont, Jean-Michel, 1985. "On Endogenous Competitive Business Cycles," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 53(5), pages 995-1045, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Ricardo Lagos & Randall Wright, 2002. "A unified framework for monetary theory and policy analysis," Working Paper 0211, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. [Downloadable!]
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  9. Camera, G. & Corbae, D., 1998. "Money and Price Dispersion," Working Papers 98-03, University of Iowa, Department of Economics.
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  10. Aleksander Berentsen & Guillaume Rocheteau & Shouyong Shi, 2007. "Friedman Meets Hosios: Efficiency in Search Models of Money," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 117(516), pages 174-195, 01. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  11. Reinsdorf, Marshall, 1994. "New Evidence on the Relation between Inflation and Price Dispersion," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(3), pages 720-31, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Kiyotaki, Nobuhiro & Wright, Randall, 1991. "A contribution to the pure theory of money," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 53(2), pages 215-235, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  13. Berentsen, Aleksander & Rocheteau, Guillaume, 2002. "On the efficiency of monetary exchange: how divisibility of money matters," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(8), pages 1621-1649, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  14. Debelle, Guy & Lamont, Owen, 1997. "Relative Price Variability and Inflation: Evidence from U.S. Cities," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 105(1), pages 132-52, February.
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  15. Benabou, Roland, 1988. "Search, Price Setting and Inflation," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 55(3), pages 353-76, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  16. Aleksander Berentsen & Guillaume Rocheteau, . "Money and the Gains from Trade," IEW - Working Papers iewwp100, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
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    • Aleksander Berentsen & Guillaume Rocheteau, 2003. "Money and the Gains from Trade," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 44(1), pages 263-297, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  17. Miguel Molico, 2006. "The Distribution Of Money And Prices In Search Equilibrium," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 47(3), pages 701-722, 08. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  18. Weimin Wang & Shouyong Shi, 2006. "The Variability of Velocity of Money in a Search Model," Working Papers tecipa-190, University of Toronto, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
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Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Shouyong Shi, 2006. "A Microfoundation of Monetary Economics," Working Papers tecipa-211, University of Toronto, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  2. Huberto M. Ennis, 2007. "Avoiding the inflation tax," Working Paper 07-06, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Ahiabu, Stephen, 2006. "Inflation and the underground economy," MPRA Paper 763, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Nov 2006. [Downloadable!]
  4. Allen Head & Alok Kumar & Beverly Lapham, 2006. "Market Power, Price Adjustment, and Inflation," Working Papers 1089, Queen's University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
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