Modeling Monetary Economies

Organized into three sections of increasing complexity. Part One examines money in isolation--demand for fiat money, a comparison of fiat and commodity monies, inflation and exchange rate. The second section adds capital to study money's interaction with other assets and banking. Lastly, it looks at money's effect on saving, investment and output through its effect on nonmonetary government debt.

How does money promote exchange?…what should serve as money?…what is the cost of inflation?…what is the link between money and output? These are some of the most basic questions in monetary economics — and by using elegantly simple models, this exciting new text makes these and other issues clear and understandable to undergraduates. This innovative departure from traditional, institutions-based money and banking texts explains monetary phenomena as the result of the choices of rational individuals. Drawing on recent advances in monetary theory, the authors build, step-by-step, the microeconomic foundations of an integrated model of the monetary economy without overwhelming the students. Basic graphs and algebra are the only mathematical requirements.

"This book presents an astonishingly clear and accessible treatment of the core models of economies with money. It is an essential complement to the mainstream macro and money and banking texts for students and instructors who want a deeper explanation of monetary phenomena."
—Michael Parkin, University of Western Ontario

"The organization is impeccable. It takes the reader carefully through the analysis, one step at a time, and it treats some of the classic problems (seignorage, neutrality, Ricardian equivalence, and so on) at exactly the right time."
—Leonardo Auernheimer, Texas A&M University