An implicit rationale for a bank reserve requirement is that a central monetary authority is in a unique position (as quot;social planner) to impose a quot;socially superiorquot; outcome to that yielded by a free banking system. We illustrate how this can be true in the context of a simple...

An implicit rationale for a bank reserve requirement is that a central monetary authority is in a unique position (as "social planner) to impose a "socially superior" outcome to that yielded by a free banking system. We illustrate how this can be true in the context of a simple economy modeled...