Yu Zhu - Latest

• Frictional Capital Reallocation I: Ex Ante Heterogeneity

  Staff Working Paper 2019-4 Randall Wright, Sylvia Xiaolin Xiao, Yu Zhu

  This paper studies dynamic general equilibrium models where firms trade capital in frictional markets. Gains from trade arise due to ex ante heterogeneity: some firms are better at investment, so they build capital in the primary market; others acquire it in the secondary market.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Monetary policy JEL Code(s): E, E2, E22, E4, E44

• A Framework for Analyzing Monetary Policy in an Economy with E-money

  Staff Working Paper 2019-1 Yu Zhu, Scott Hendry

  This paper considers an economy where central-bank-issued fiat money competes with privately issued e-money. We study a policy-setting game between the central bank and the e-money issuer and find (1) the optimal monetary policy of the central bank depends on the policy of the private issuer and may deviate from the Friedman rule; (2) multiple equilibria may exist; (3) when the economy approaches a cashless state, the central bank’s optimal policy improves the market power of the e-money issuer and can lead to a discrete decrease in welfare and a discrete increase in inflation; and (4) first best cannot be achieved.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Digital currencies and fintech, Monetary policy JEL Code(s): E, E5, E52