Pingle, M.; Tesfatsion, Leigh

Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control Vol. 22 (1998): 1533-1574.

This paper establishes that the pro�t-seeking activities of private intermediaries can ensure Pareto e�ciency in the standard pure-exchange monetary overlapping generations economy without the need for government monetary or �scal policy intervention. Moreover, these pro�t-seeking activities are shown to rule out all aperiodic and kperiodic cycles for k greater than 2. Contrary to much recent work on intermediation, the pro�t opportunities that arise for intermediaries in this context are not due to assumed frictions or asymmetric information. Rather, they are due to the dynamic open-ended structure of the economy, which permits debt roll-over. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

JEL Classification: C6, E2, E4