Self-confirming price dispersion in monetary economies

Garth Baughman and Stanislav Rabinovich

Journal of Economic Theory, 2019, vol. 183, issue C, 284-311

Abstract: In a monetary economy, we show that price dispersion arises as an equilibrium outcome without the need for costly simultaneous search or any heterogeneity in preferences, production costs, or search technologies. A distribution of money holdings among buyers makes sellers indifferent across a set of posted prices, leading to a non-degenerate price distribution. This price distribution, in turn, makes buyers indifferent across a range of money balances, rationalizing the non-degenerate distribution of money holdings. We completely characterize the distribution of posted prices and money holdings in any equilibrium. Equilibria with price dispersion admit higher maximum prices than observed in any single-price equilibrium and feature an increasing density of prices, in contrast to existing theories. Price dispersion reduces welfare by creating mismatch between posted prices and money balances. Inflation exacerbates this welfare loss by shifting the distribution towards higher prices.

Keywords: Search; Price dispersion; Money; Inflation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D43 E31 E40 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Working Paper: Self-confirming Price Dispersion in Monetary Economies (2018)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jetheo:v:183:y:2019:i:c:p:284-311

DOI: 10.1016/j.jet.2019.06.005

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