An imperfectly competitive economy is very prone to market uncertainty, including uncertainty about the liquidity (or "thickness") of markets. The authors show, in particular, that there exist stochastic equilibrium outcomes in nonstochastic market games if (and only if) the endowments are not...

The authors investigate the structure of competitive equilibria in an exchange economy parametrized by endowments and restrictions on market participation. For arbitrary regular endowments, if few consumers are restricted, there are no sunspot equilibria. If endowments are allowed to vary, while...

What determines which assets are used in transactions? We develop a framework where the extent to which assets are recognizable determines the extent to which they are acceptable in exchange--i.e. it determines their liquidity. Recognizability and liquidity are endogenized by allowing agents to...

Many individuals simultaneously have significant credit card debt and money in the bank. The "credit card debt puzzle "is as follows: given high interest rates on credit cards and low rates on bank accounts, why not pay down debt? While some economists go to elaborate lengths to explain this, we...

We develop a model where: (i) banks take deposits and make investments; (ii) their liabilities facilitate third-party transactions. Other models have (i) or (ii), not both, although we argue they are intimately connected: we show that they both emerge from limited commitment. We describe an...

Many individuals simultaneously have significant credit card debt and money in the bank. The credit card debt puzzle is as follows: given high interest rates on credit cards and low rates on bank accounts, why not pay down debt? While some economists go to elaborate lengths to explain this, we...

What determines which assets are used in transactions? We develop a framework where the extent to which assets are recognizable determines the extent to which they are acceptable in exchange--i.e. it determines their liquidity. Recognizability and liquidity are endogenized by allowing agents to...