Despite constituting the very heart of the monetary transmission mechanism, widespreadmisconceptions still exist regarding how monetary policy is implemented. This paperhighlights the key misconceptions in this regard and shows how they have compromised theunderstanding of important aspects of...

During the turbulent 1970s and 1980s the Bundesbank established an outstandingreputation in the world of central banking. Germany achieved a high degree of domesticstability and provided safe haven for investors in times of turmoil in the internationalfinancial system. Eventually the Bundesbank...

In this essay I review Sylvia Nasar’s long awaited new history of economics, Grand Pursuit. Idescribe how the book is an economic history of the period from 1850-1950, withdistinguished economists’ stories inserted in appropriate places. Nasar’s goal is to show howeconomists work, but also...

This paper studies the joint business cycle dynamics of inflation, money growth, nominal and real interest rates and the velocity of money. I extend and estimate a standard cash and credit monetary model by adding idiosyncratic preference shocks to cash consumption as well as a banking sector....

Central bankers’ conventional wisdom suggests that nominal interest rates should be raised to implement a lower inflation target. In contrast, I show that the standard New Keynesian monetary model predicts that nominal interest rates should bedecreased to attain this goal. Real interest rates,...

Based on an experimental analysis of a simple monetary economy we argue that a monetary system is more stable than one would expect from individual rationality. Weshow that positive reciprocity stabilizes the monetary system, provided everyparticipant considers accepting money as a reasonable...

This paper contributes to the micro-foundation of money in centralizedmarkets with idiosyncratic uncertainty. It shows existence of stationarymonetary equilibria and ensures that there is an optimum quantity ofmoney. The rational solution of our model is compared with actual be-havior in a...

Tobin (1958) has argued that in the face of potential capital losses on bonds it is reasonable to hold cash as a means to transfer wealth over time. It is shown that this assertion cannot be sustained taking into account the evolution of wealth of cash holders versus non cash holders. Cash...

This paper extends a New Keynesian model to include roles for currency and depositsas competing sources of liquidity services demanded by households. It showsthat, both qualitatively and quantitatively, the Barnett critique applies: While a Divisiaaggregate of monetary services tracks the true...

We argue that there is a connection between the interbank market for liquidity and thebroader financial markets, which has its basis in demand for liquidity by banks. Tightnessin the interbank market for liquidity leads banks to engage in what we term “liquiditypull-back,” which involves...