Monetary exchange is deemed essential when better incentive-compatible outcomes can be achieved with money than without it. We study essentiality both theoretically and experimentally, using finite-horizon monetary models that are naturally suited to the lab. We also follow the mechanism design...

Are financial intermediaries-in particular, banks-inherently unstable or fragile, and if so, why? We address this question theoretically by analyzing whether model economies with financial intermediation are more prone than those without it to multiple, cyclic, or stochastic equilibria. We...

We develop a theory of money and credit as competing payment instruments, then put it to work in applications. Agents use cash and credit because the former (latter) is subject to the inflation tax (transaction costs). Frictions that make the choice of payment method interesting also imply...

Are financial intermediaries—in particular, banks—inherently unstable or fragile, and if so, why? We address this question theoretically by analyzing whether model economies with financial intermediation are more prone than those without it to multiple, cyclic, or stochastic equilibria. We...

This essay surveys the literature on middlemen--i.e., intermediation in exchange--reviewing, extending and consolidating key developments in the field. This is important because intermediated trade is common in reality but absent in standard general equilibrium theory. We focus on research using...

We study economies where firms acquire capital in primary markets then retrade it in secondary markets after information on idiosyncratic productivity arrives. Our secondary markets incorporate bilateral trade with search, bargaining and liquidity frictions. We distinguish between full and...

This working paper was written by Chao Gu (University of Missouri), Guido Menzio (New York University and NBER), Randall Wright (Zhejiang University, University of Wisconsin - Madison and NBER) and Yu Zhu (Bank of Canada).During the financial crisis, relatively centralized markets functioned...