Stock-Returns and Inflation in a Principal-Agent Economy

Abstract

We study a monetary in which final goods sell on spot markets, while labor and dividends sell through contracts. Firms and workers confuse absolute and relative price changes: A positive price-level shock makes sellers think they are producing better goods than they really are. They split this apparent windfall with workers who get a higher real wage. Hence, unexpected inflation shifts real income from firms (the principals) to workers (the agents) and thereby lowers stock-returns.MONEY SUPPLY ; PRICES ; STOCKS