We develop a model of a two-sided asset market in which trades are intermediated by dealers and are bilateral. Dealers compete to attract order flow by posting the terms at which they execute trades-- which can include prices, quantities, and execution speed--and investors direct their orders...

The authors develop a model of a two-sided asset market in which trades are intermediated by dealers and are bilateral. Dealers compete to attract order flow by posting the terms at which they execute trades, which can include prices, quantities, and execution times, and investors direct their...

We consider a decentralized market for an asset (or durable good) where the valuations of the agents in the market are heterogeneous and drawn from a continuous distribution. Agents can hold either zero or one unit of the asset, and they choose whether or not to search for a trading partner,...

We study a search and bargaining model of an asset market, where investors’ heterogeneous valuations for the asset are drawn from an arbitrary distribution. Our solution technique renders the analysis fully tractable and allows us to provide a full characterization of the equilibrium, in...

We study the dynamics of liquidity provision by dealers during an asset market crash, described as a temporary negative shock to investors’ aggregate asset demand. We consider a class of dynamic market settings where dealers can trade continuously with each other, while trading between dealers...

We study an over-the-counter (OTC) market in which the usefulness of assets as a means of payment or collateral is limited by the threat of fraudulent practices. Agents can produce fraudulent assets at a positive cost, which generates upper bounds on the quantity of each asset that can be traded...

positions that require small reallocations. In such circumstances, welfare can increase if the government steps in, purchases private assets on its own account, and resells them when the economy recovers.

We construct a continuous-time model of incomplete markets where households value both deterministic consumption flows and infrequent and random opportunities of lumpy consumption. Because of lack of commitment and lack of record keeping, households cannot borrow to finance these random...

We study the efficiency of liquidity provision by dealers and the desirability of policy intervention in over-the-counter (OTC) markets during crises. We emphasizes two OTC frictions: finding counterparties takes time, and trade is bilateral and involves bargaining. We model a crisis as a shock...

This Policy Discussion Paper summarizes the papers that were presented at the Liquidity in Frictional Markets conference in November 2008. The papers, which looked at markets for assets as diverse as houses, bank loans, and electronic funds transfer, all explored that amorphous concept called...