IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/tsa/wpaper/0186eco.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Thresholds and the Welfare Cost of Inflation

Author

Listed:
  • Robert R. Reed
  • Edgar A. Ghossoub

    (UTSA)

Abstract

The neoclassical growth model is the benchmark framework for studying the welfare effects of inflation. However, existing work likely produces misleading estimates because it does not include any mechanism for in?ation to promote capital accumulation and welfare. Such rigid assumptions do not line up with recent evidence of a Tobin e¤ect for advanced economies like the United States. Based upon empirical results, we present a model in which there are threshold e¤ects from in?ation to the reliance on cash. Our analysis makes considerable progress in determining the costs of in?ation by acknowledging a Tobin e¤ect occurs at low in?ation rates but trying to exploit a tradeo¤ at high rates distorts the e¢ ciency of the payments system with strong adverse consequences for the capital stock and welfare.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert R. Reed & Edgar A. Ghossoub, 2013. "Thresholds and the Welfare Cost of Inflation," Working Papers 0186eco, College of Business, University of Texas at San Antonio.
  • Handle: RePEc:tsa:wpaper:0186eco
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://interim.business.utsa.edu/wps/eco/0054ECO-566-2013.pdf
    File Function: Full text
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. John Duffy & Maxim Nikitin, 2004. "Dollarization Traps," Econometric Society 2004 Latin American Meetings 196, Econometric Society.
    2. Richard Clarida & Jordi Galí & Mark Gertler, 2000. "Monetary Policy Rules and Macroeconomic Stability: Evidence and Some Theory," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 115(1), pages 147-180.
    3. Marvin Goodfriend, 1993. "Interest rate policy and the inflation scare problem: 1979-1992," Proceedings, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    4. Schreft, Stacey L. & Smith, Bruce D., 2000. "The evolution of cash transactions: Some implications for monetary policy," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 97-120, August.
    5. Bullard, James & Keating, John W., 1995. "The long-run relationship between inflation and output in postwar economies," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 477-496, December.
    6. Reed, Robert R. & Ghossoub, Edgar A., 2012. "The effects of monetary policy at different stages of economic development," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 117(1), pages 138-141.
    7. Gaetano Antinolfi & Claudia M. Landeo & Maxim Nikitin, 2007. "Dollarization and the inflation threshold," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 40(2), pages 628-649, May.
    8. Edgar A. Ghossoub & Thanarak Laosuthi & Robert R. Reed, 2012. "The role of financial sector competition for monetary policy," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 45(1), pages 270-287, February.
    9. Freeman, Scott & Huffman, Gregory W, 1991. "Inside Money, Output, and Causality," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 32(3), pages 645-667, August.
    10. Lucas, Robert Jr. & Stokey, Nancy L., 1983. "Optimal fiscal and monetary policy in an economy without capital," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(1), pages 55-93.
    11. Lucas, Robert E, Jr & Stokey, Nancy L, 1987. "Money and Interest in a Cash-in-Advance Economy," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 55(3), pages 491-513, May.
    12. Ghossoub, Edgar & Reed III, Robert R., 2010. "Liquidity risk, economic development, and the effects of monetary policy," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(2), pages 252-268, February.
    13. Schreft, Stacey L. & Smith, Bruce D., 1997. "Money, Banking, and Capital Formation," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 73(1), pages 157-182, March.
    14. Ghossoub, Edgar A., 2012. "Liquidity risk and financial competition: Implications for asset prices and monetary policy," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(2), pages 155-173.
    15. Wang, Ping & Yip, Chong K, 1992. "Alternative Approaches to Money and Growth," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 24(4), pages 553-562, November.
    16. Ghossoub, Edgar A & Reed, Robert R, 2005. "Money and Specialization in a Neoclassical Growth Model," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 37(5), pages 969-975, October.
    17. Edgar A. Ghossoub & Thanarak Laosuthi & Robert R. Reed, 2012. "The role of financial sector competition for monetary policy," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 45(1), pages 270-287, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Edgar A. Ghossoub & Robert R. Reed, 2019. "Banking competition, production externalities, and the effects of monetary policy," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 67(1), pages 91-154, February.
    2. Ghossoub, Edgar A. & Reed, Robert R., 2015. "The size distribution of the banking sector and the effects of monetary policy," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 156-176.
    3. Tetsuo Ono, 2020. "Fiscal rules in a monetary economy: Implications for growth and welfare," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 22(1), pages 190-219, February.
    4. Edgar A. Ghossoub, 2016. "Commercial Banks, Credit Unions, and Monetary Policy," Working Papers 0174eco, College of Business, University of Texas at San Antonio.
    5. Edgar A. Ghossoub, 2013. "Banking Competition: Implications for Welfare and Monetary Policy," Working Papers 0182eco, College of Business, University of Texas at San Antonio.
    6. Been-Lon Chen & Shian-Yu Liao & Dongpeng Liu & Xiangbo Liu, 2022. "Optimal Long-run Money Growth Rate in a Cash-in-Advance Economy with Labor-Market Frictions," IEAS Working Paper : academic research 22-A003, Institute of Economics, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan.
    7. Edgar Ghossoub, 2010. "Liquidity Risk and Financial Competition: Implications on Asset Prices and Monetary Policy," Working Papers 0003, College of Business, University of Texas at San Antonio.
    8. Ghossoub, Edgar A., 2012. "Liquidity risk and financial competition: Implications for asset prices and monetary policy," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(2), pages 155-173.
    9. Edgar A. Ghossoub & Robert Reed, 2008. "Liquidity Risk, Economic Development, and the Effects of Monetary Policy," Working Papers 0070, College of Business, University of Texas at San Antonio.
    10. Ghossoub, Edgar A. & Reed, Robert R., 2014. "The cost of capital, asset prices, and the effects of monetary policy," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 211-228.
    11. Harrison, Andre & Reed, Robert R., 2023. "International capital flows, liquidity risk, and monetary policy," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    12. Edgar A. Ghossoub, 2015. "Inflation Thresholds and the Efficiency of the Banking Sector," Working Papers 0159eco, College of Business, University of Texas at San Antonio.
    13. Edgar A. Ghossoub, 2009. "Liquidity Risk and Banks’ Asset Composition: Implications for Monetary Policy," Working Papers 0096, College of Business, University of Texas at San Antonio.
    14. Reed, Robert R. & Ghossoub, Edgar A., 2012. "The effects of monetary policy at different stages of economic development," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 117(1), pages 138-141.
    15. TINA M. Edgar A. Ghossoub & TINA M. Robert R. Reedy, 2012. "Financial Development and the Distributional Effects of Monetary Policy Do the distributional consequences of monetary policy depend on the extent of financial development? Should optimal monetary pol," Working Papers 0035, College of Business, University of Texas at San Antonio.
    16. Piotr Ciżkowicz & Marcin Hołda & Andrzej Rzońca, 2009. "Inflation and investment in monetary growth models," Bank i Kredyt, Narodowy Bank Polski, vol. 40(6), pages 9-40.
    17. Hung, Fu-Sheng, 2005. "Optimal composition of government public capital financing," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 704-723, December.
    18. Ghossoub, Edgar A. & Reed, Robert R., 2017. "Financial development, income inequality, and the redistributive effects of monetary policy," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 167-189.
    19. von Thadden, Leopold, 2012. "Monetary policy rules in an OLG model with non-superneutral money," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 147-166.
    20. Edgar A. Ghossoub & Robert R. Reed, 2021. "Banking Competition, Capital Accumulation, And Interest On Reserves," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 59(2), pages 671-695, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Payments System; Money Demand; Capital Accumulation; In?ation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • 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
    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • O42 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Monetary Growth Models

    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:tsa:wpaper:0186eco. 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: Wendy Frost (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/cbutsus.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.