Indeterminacy in credit economies

A-Tier
Journal: Journal of Economic Theory
Year: 2018
Volume: 175
Issue: C
Pages: 556-584

Authors (3)

Bethune, Zachary (Rice University) Hu, Tai-Wei (not in RePEc) Rocheteau, Guillaume (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

1.341 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We characterize the equilibrium set of a two-good, pure-credit economy with limited commitment, under both pairwise and centralized meetings. We show that the set of equilibria derived under “not-too-tight” solvency constraints (Alvarez and Jermann, 2000) commonly used in the literature is of measure zero in the whole set of Perfect Bayesian Equilibria. There exist a continuum of stationary equilibria, a continuum of endogenous credit cycles of any periodicity, and a continuum of sunspot equilibria, irrespective of the assumed trading mechanism. Equilibria featuring “too-tight” solvency constraints can generate growing credit limits over time, periodic credit shutdowns, and heterogeneous debt limits across ex-ante identical borrowers. Moreover, we provide examples of credit cycles that dominate, from a social welfare point of view, all equilibria with “not-too-tight” solvency constraints.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:jetheo:v:175:y:2018:i:c:p:556-584
Journal Field
Theory
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-24