The Macroeconomics of Demonetization: Theory and Some Conjectures
The withdrawal of high-denomination paper money in India—popularly termed ‘demonetization’—has generated interest among common people to understand what the usual macroeconomic consequences of such one-time monetary shock are. This article conjectures (a) that such unanticipated supply-side replacement of paper money of higher denominations may lead to a currency ‘trap’ in the short run and a permanent increase in the hoarding of lower denomination currencies in the long run and (b) that the effect on the GDP in the medium run can be ambiguous in a simple IS-LM framework once the effects of variable price level and changing inflation expectations are captured through the presence of an informal sector. JEL Classification: E 12, E 26, E 44, E 52