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Asset Safety versus Asset Liquidity

Author

Listed:
  • Athanasios Geromichalos
  • Lucas Herrenbrueck
  • Sukjoon Lee

Abstract

Many economists assume that safer assets are more liquid, and some have practically used “safe” and “liquid” as synonyms. But these terms are not synonyms, and mixing them up can lead to confusion and wrong policy recommendations. We build a multiasset model where an asset’s safety and liquidity are well defined and distinct, and we examine their relationship in general equilibrium. We show that the common belief that “safety implies liquidity” is generally justified but also identify conditions under which this relationship can be reversed. We use our model to rationalize, qualitatively and quantitatively, a prominent safety-liquidity reversal observed in the data.

Suggested Citation

  • Athanasios Geromichalos & Lucas Herrenbrueck & Sukjoon Lee, 2023. "Asset Safety versus Asset Liquidity," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 131(5), pages 1172-1212.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jpolec:doi:10.1086/722225
    DOI: 10.1086/722225
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    Cited by:

    1. Athanasios Geromichalos & Lucas Herrenbrueck, 2022. "The Liquidity-Augmented Model of Macroeconomic Aggregates: A New Monetarist DSGE Approach," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 45, pages 134-167, July.
    2. Miroslav Gabrovski & Athanasios Geromichalos & Lucas Herrenbrueck & Ioannis Kospentaris & Sukjoon Lee, 2025. "How does asset market liquidity affect the real economy? A quantitative assessment of the transmission channels," Working Papers 202501, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Economics.
    3. Altermatt, Lukas, 2019. "Savings, asset scarcity, and monetary policy," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 182(C), pages 329-359.
    4. Kaldorf, Matthias & Röttger, Joost, 2025. "Convenient but risky government bonds," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    5. Geromichalos, Athanasios & Wang, Yijing, 2024. "Money and Competing Means of Payment," MPRA Paper 121388, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Gabrovski, Miroslav & Geromichalos, Athanasios & Herrenbrueck, Lucas & Kospentaris, Ioannis & Lee, Sukjoon, 2025. "The real effects of financial disruptions in a monetary economy," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    7. Miroslav Gabrovski & Ioannis Kospentaris & Lucie Lebeau, 2024. "The Macroeconomics of Labor, Credit and Financial Market Imperfections," Working Papers 2409, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
    8. Nicolas Caramp & Sanjay R Singh, 2023. "Bond Premium Cyclicality and Liquidity Traps," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 90(6), pages 2822-2879.
    9. Lucas Herrenbrueck, Zijian Wang, 2023. "Interest Rates, Moneyness, and the Fisher Equation," Discussion Papers dp23-11, Department of Economics, Simon Fraser University.
    10. Marieh Azizirad, 2022. "Fisher vs Keynes: Does an Interest Rate Hike Cause Inflation to Increase or Decrease?," Discussion Papers dp22-08, Department of Economics, Simon Fraser University.
    11. Athanasios Geromichalos & Lucas Herrenbrueck & Sukjoon Lee, 2023. "The Strategic Determination of the Supply of Liquid Assets," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 49, pages 1-36, July.
    12. Lucas Herrenbrueck, 2019. "Interest Rates, Moneyness, and the Fisher Equation," Discussion Papers dp19-01, Department of Economics, Simon Fraser University.
    13. Kim, J.H. John & Anderson, Ronald, 2024. "CEO narcissism and the agency cost of debt," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • E43 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Interest Rates: Determination, Term Structure, and Effects
    • E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates

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