Modeling Monetary Economies

This upper-level undergraduate textbook, now in its second editon, approaches monetary economics using the classical paradigm of rational agents in a market setting. Too often monetary economics has been taught as a collection of facts about existing institutions for students to memorize. By teaching from first principles, the authors aim to instruct students not only in existing monetary policies and institutions but also in what policies and institutions may or should exist in the future. The text builds on a simple, clear monetary model and applies this framework consistently to a wide variety of monetary questions. The authors have added in this second edition new material on speculative attacks on currencies, social security, currency boards, central banking alternatives, the payments system, and the Lucas model of price surprises. Discussions of many topics have been extended, presentations of data greatly expanded, and new exercises added.

"Too often monetary economics has been taught as a collection of facts about institutions for students to memorize. By teaching from first principles instead, this advanced undergraduate textbook builds on a simple, clear monetary model and applies this framework consistently to a wide variety of monetary questions. Starting with the case in which trade is mutually beneficial, the book demonstrates that money makes people better off, and that government money competes against other means of payments, including other types of government money. After developing each of these topics, the book tackles the issue of money competing against other stores of value, examining issues associated with trade, finance, and modern banking. The book then moves from simple economies to modern economies, addressing the role banks play in making more trades possible, concluding with the information problems plaguing modern banking, which result in financial crises"--

General Equilibrium Models of Monetary Economies: Studies in the Static Foundations of Monetary Theory is a collection of essays that addresses the integration of the theory of money and the theory of value by using a mathematical general equilibrium theory. The papers discuss monetary theory, microeconomic theory, bilateral trade, transactions costs, intertemporal allocation, and the value of money. The Arrow-Debreu model of Walrasian general equilibrium theory provides a framework to represent money as a device for facilitating trade among economic agents without the use of money as a medium of exchange and as a store of value. The essays analyze the rationale for using a medium of exchange, for using a store of value, and for holding of idle balances in equilibrium. The essays show that by explicit modeling of the structure and difficulties of trade, a powerful class of models which deny money and finance a role in the economy, has by itself shown to have provided the foundation for the structures of trade. The collection will prove helpful for economists, statistician, mathematicians, students or professors of economics and business.

This book challenges the mainstream paradigm, based on the inter-temporal optimisation of welfare by individual agents. It introduces a methodology for studying how it is institutions which create flows of income, expenditure and production together with stocks of assets and liabilities, thereby determining how whole economies evolve through time.

This book challenges the mainstream paradigm, based on the inter-temporal optimisation of welfare by individual agents. It introduces a methodology for studying how institutions create flows of income, expenditure and production together with stocks of assets and liabilities, thereby determining how whole economies evolve through time.

This successful text, now in its second edition, offers the most comprehensive overview of monetary economics and monetary policy currently available. It covers the microeconomic, macroeconomic and monetary policy components of the field. Major features of the new edition include: Stylised facts on money demand and supply, and the relationships between monetary policy, inflation, output and unemployment in the economy. Theories on money demand and supply, including precautionary and buffer stock models, and monetary aggregation. Cross-country comparison of central banking and monetary policy in the US, UK and Canada, as well as consideration of the special features of developing countries. Monetary growth theory and the distinct roles of money and financial institutions in economic growth in promoting endogenous growth. This book will be of interest to teachers and students of monetary economics, money and banking, macroeconomics and monetary policy.

A Course in Monetary Economics is an insightful introduction to advanced topics in monetary economics. Accessible to students who have mastered the diagrammatic tools of economics, it discusses real issues with a variety of modeling alternatives, allowing for a direct comparison of the implications of the different models. The exposition is clear and logical, providing a solid foundation in monetary theory and the techniques of economic modeling. The inventive analysis explores an extensive range of topics including the optimum quantity of money, optimal monetary and fiscal policy, and uncertain and sequential trade models. Additionally, the text contains a simple general equilibrium version of Lucas (1972) confusion hypothesis, and presents and synthesizes the results of recent empirical work. The text is rooted in the author's years of teaching and research, and will be highly suitable for monetary economics courses at both the upper-level undergraduate and graduate levels.

An overview of recent theoretical and policy-related developments in monetary economics.