A Tractable Model of Indirect Asset Liquidity

Assets have “indirect liquidity” if they cannot be used as media of exchange, but can be traded to obtain a medium of exchange (money) and thereby inherit monetary properties. This essay describes a simple dynamic model of indirect asset liquidity, provides closed form solutions for real and nominal assets, and discusses properties of the solutions. Some of these are standard: assets and money are imperfect substitutes, asset demand curves slope down, and money is not always neutral. Other properties are more surprising: prices are flexible but appear sticky, and an increase in the supply of indirectly liquid assets can decrease welfare. Because of its simplicity, the model can be useful as a building block inside a larger model, and for teaching concepts from monetary theory.