Lucas [1987] has shown that in a representative agent framework, the potential welfare gain from stabilizing consumption around its mean is small. We provide an example and some insight for why Lucas' measure is an upper bound of the welfare cost of fluctuations in walrasian economies.

In this paper we measure the welfare cost of fluctuations in a simple representative agent economy with nonclearing markets. The market friction we consider involves price rigidities and a voluntary exchange rationing scheme. These features are incorporated into an otherwise standard...