The welfare cost of inflation revisited: The role of financial innovation and household heterogeneity

A-Tier
Journal: Journal of Monetary Economics
Year: 2021
Volume: 118
Issue: C
Pages: 366-380

Score contribution per author:

1.005 = (α=2.01 / 4 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

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

Abstract

The money-consumption ratio increases with age and decreases with consumption, and the recent era of low interest rates has seen a large increase in the aggregate money-consumption ratio. We estimate an overlapping generations model with money for transaction purposes for the age effects and the extent of financial innovation using aggregate and household-level money holdings. We then assess the welfare cost of a 3 percentage point increase in inflation, incorporating the cost from the redistribution of non-money nominal wealth. We find that the welfare costs are 13% of one-year consumption and are borne mostly by the poor and the old.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:moneco:v:118:y:2021:i:c:p:366-380
Journal Field
Macro
Author Count
4
Added to Database
2026-01-25