The Mundell-Tobin Effect

This article explains the Mundell-Tobin effect by showing the relationship between the ISLM and ADAS models. The Mundell-Tobin effect states that nominal interest rates may not rise 1:1 with price levels, as the Fisher effect states.

The Fisher effect derives from Fisher’s identity of i = r + π where i=nominal interest rates, r = real interest rates and π=inflation rate (i.e. rate of change in price levels). Fisher believed that if π rose by 1 then i must also rise by one.

Mundell-Tobin came along and said that this wasn’t the case, because they believed that r, the real interest rate, would fall if inflation rose, meaning the overall effect would be that i didn’t rise on a 1:1 basis with inflation. [...]

Was OPEC’s price increase inflationary or deflationary?

In the 1970s OPEC, the oil cartel, increased prices which – it is often proclaimed – is responsible for the stagflation in Western countries. Whilst we would naturally expect such an increase in price of a vital commodity to lead to inflation (we will examine these effects shortly), is it possible that there could have been some deflationary effects too?

Naturally basic economic theory would tell us that the oil price increase would be inflationary:

Oil is a commodity which is highly price inelastic (meaning a change in prices isn’t met with much of a change in demand) and so a rise in its price will have to be absorbed by consumers. [...]

Yap and the Stone Currency

yapYap is an island in the Pacific Ocean within the Caroline Islands with a population of around 10,000. Despite being a tiny country which you have probably never heard of before, Yap teaches us some important lessons on the functions of money. That is because money on the island consists of large stone discs, made from limestone and shipped from an island a few hundred miles off the coast of Yap, called Rai. They made Rai there money which they would use for expensive transfers, such as for their daughters dowry. Because Rai is made from limestone it is a mix between fiat money and commodity money. [...]