In this paper we survey the theoretical and empirical literature on market liquidity. We organize both literatures around three basic questions: (a) how to measure illiquidity, (b) how illiquidity relates to underlying market imperfections and other asset characteristics, and (c) how illiquidity...

We analyze how asymmetric information and imperfect competition a®ect liquidity and asset prices. Our model has three periods: agents are identical in the ¯rst, become heterogeneous and trade in the second, and consume asset payo®s in the third. We show that asymmetric information in the...

We develop a dynamic model of liquidity provision, in which hedgers can trade multiple risky assets with arbitrageurs. We compute the equilibrium in closed form when arbitrageurs’ utility over consumption is logarithmic or risk-neutral with a non-negativity constraint. Liquidity is increasing...

We estimate structurally a model of the term structure of interest rates that is consistent with no arbitrage but allows for demand pressures. The term structure in our model is determined through the interaction of risk-averse arbitrageurs and preferred-habitat investors with preferences for...

We propose a clientele-based model of the yield curve and optimal maturity structure of government debt. Clienteles are generations of agents at different life cycle stages in an overlapping-generations economy. An optimal maturity structure exists in the absence of distortionary taxes and...

We study flows between investment funds and their effects on asset prices in a simple two period version of Vayanos and Woolley (2010, VW). As in VW, flows cause assets to commove in ways unrelated to fundamentals, affect assets with high idiosyncratic risk the most, and raise the expected...

We propose a rational theory of momentum and reversal based on delegated portfolio management. Flows between investment funds are triggered by changes in fund managers' e±ciency, which investors either observe directly or infer from past performance. Momentum arises if fund °ows exhibit...

We propose a rational theory of momentum and reversal based on delegated portfolio management. A competitive investor can invest through an index fund or an active fund run by a manager with unknown ability. Following a negative cashflow shock to assets held by the active fund, the investor...

We examine how liquidity and asset prices are affected by the following market imperfections: asymmetric information, participation costs, transaction costs, leverage constraints, non-competitive behavior and search. Our model has three periods: agents are identical in the first, become...

We survey theoretical developments in the literature on the limits of arbitrage. This literature investigates how costs faced by arbitrageurs can prevent them from eliminating mispricings and providing liquidity to other investors. Research in this area is currently evolving into a broader...