Abstract:
It is argued that inflation creates private incentives for (socially costly) inside money to supplant (socially costless) outside money. Consequently, the familiar 'shoe leather cost' of inflation, that operates through a reduced demand for money under inflation, is supplemented by a separate social cost of inflation that operates through an increased supply of (inside) money under inflation. It is further argued that allowance of the costliness of an inflation-induced expansion of inside money changes the character of the distribution of the costs of inflation. Certain suppliers of inside money may experience a net gain from an inflation. The upshot is that inflation is no longer necessarily a 'common enemy', but may be welcomed by some economic interests.