Contracts, Credibility, and Disinflation

Contracts, Credibility, and Disinflation PDF Author: Stanley Fischer
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Deflation (Finance)
Languages : en
Pages : 44

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Book Description
Estimates of the cost of disinflation made before the recent reduction in the inflation rate varied widely. Estimates were made in terms of the sacrifice ratio -- the percentage points of GNP at an annual rate lost per percentage point reduction in the inflation rate. At one extreme it was argued thata resolute and credible monetary policy could reduce inflation virtually costlessly. At the other extreme were estimates that the sacrifice ratio exceeded 10. Costless immediate disinflation is not possible in an economy with long-term labor contracts. This paper sets out a simple contracting model of wage and output determination and uses it to calculate sacrifice ratios for a disinflation program, under the assumption that announced policy changes are immediately believed. Under this assumption disinflation with a structure of labor contracts like those of the United States would be less costly than typically estimated. The model is then modified to allow for the slow adjustment of expectations of policy to actual policy; sacrifice ratios then approach the ranges typically estimated. The sacrifice ratio for the current disinflation is calculated in the last section: the current disinflation was somewhat more rapid and less costly than previous estimates suggested. The calculated sacrifice ratio is consistent with the predictions of the simple contracting model.

Contracts, Credibility, and Disinflation

Contracts, Credibility, and Disinflation PDF Author: Stanley Fischer
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Deflation (Finance)
Languages : en
Pages : 44

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Book Description
Estimates of the cost of disinflation made before the recent reduction in the inflation rate varied widely. Estimates were made in terms of the sacrifice ratio -- the percentage points of GNP at an annual rate lost per percentage point reduction in the inflation rate. At one extreme it was argued thata resolute and credible monetary policy could reduce inflation virtually costlessly. At the other extreme were estimates that the sacrifice ratio exceeded 10. Costless immediate disinflation is not possible in an economy with long-term labor contracts. This paper sets out a simple contracting model of wage and output determination and uses it to calculate sacrifice ratios for a disinflation program, under the assumption that announced policy changes are immediately believed. Under this assumption disinflation with a structure of labor contracts like those of the United States would be less costly than typically estimated. The model is then modified to allow for the slow adjustment of expectations of policy to actual policy; sacrifice ratios then approach the ranges typically estimated. The sacrifice ratio for the current disinflation is calculated in the last section: the current disinflation was somewhat more rapid and less costly than previous estimates suggested. The calculated sacrifice ratio is consistent with the predictions of the simple contracting model.

Inflation and Unemployment

Inflation and Unemployment PDF Author: Victor E. Argy
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317216792
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 398

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Book Description
Originally published in 1985 and contributed to by internationally renowned economists, this volume discusses theoretical issues and country-specific experiences to review the underlying causes of the stagflation of the 1970s and early 1980s, as well as summarizing the kinds of macro-policies that were adopted to deal with the stagflation.

Backward-looking Contracts, Credibility and Inflation Convergence

Backward-looking Contracts, Credibility and Inflation Convergence PDF Author: Piero Ghezzi
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Indexation (Economics)
Languages : en
Pages : 34

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Book Description


Deflation

Deflation PDF Author: Richard C. K. Burdekin
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139456229
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 385

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Book Description
This book was originally published in 2004. Fears of deflation seemed nothing more than a relic of the Great Depression. However, beginning in the 1990s, persistently falling consumer prices have emerged in Japan, China and elsewhere. Deflation is also a distinct possibility in some of the major European area economies, especially Germany, and emerged as a concern of the US Federal Reserve in 2003. Deflation may be worse than inflation not only because the real burden of debt rises but also because firms would confront rising real wages in a world where nominal wage rigidity prevails. This volume explores some key themes regarding deflation including: (i) how economic agents and policy makers have responded to deflation, (ii) the links between monetary policy, goods price movements, and asset price movements, (iii) the impact of deflation under different monetary policy and exchange rate regimes, and (iv) stock market reactions to deflation.

Handbook of Monetary and Fiscal Policy

Handbook of Monetary and Fiscal Policy PDF Author: Alan A. Rabin
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 9780824707811
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 1848

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Book Description
Examines the politics of economic policy, focusing on forecasting, inflation, interest rates, market expectations, financial crises, disruptions in global markets, and tax policy, as well as state and local government budgeting, financial management, and policy initiatives for development and growth.

Handbook of Macroeconomics

Handbook of Macroeconomics PDF Author: John B. Taylor
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 9780444501585
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 600

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Book Description
Part 6: Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy. 19. Asset prices, consumption, and the business cycle (J.Y. Campbell). 20. Human behavior and the efficiency of the financial system (R.J. Shiller). 21. The financial accelerator in a quantitative business cycle framework (B. Bernanke, M. Gertler and S. Gilchrist). Part 7: Monetary and Fiscal Policy. 22. Political economics and macroeconomic policy (T. Persson, G. Tabellini). 23. Issues in the design of monetary policy rules (B.T. McCallum). 24. Inflation stabilization and BOP crises in developing countries (G.A. Calvo, C.A. Vegh). 25. Government debt (D.W. Elmendorf, N.G. Mankiw). 26. Optimal fiscal and monetary policy (V.V. Chari, P.J. Kehoe).

Handbook of Monetary Policy

Handbook of Monetary Policy PDF Author: Jack Rabin
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 0585425515
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 1009

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Book Description
This handbook explains the development and implementation of monetary policy. It examines theories and issues related to the preservation of economic activity and explores why the preservation of economic stability is a principal goal of public policy.

Central Bank Independence and Disinflationary Credibility

Central Bank Independence and Disinflationary Credibility PDF Author: Adam Simon Posen
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Banks and banking, Central
Languages : en
Pages : 60

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Book Description
Granting central banks independence from short-term political control is widely assumed to decrease inflation by increasing the credibility of commitments to price stability. This paper analyzes public- and private-sector behavior in a sample of seventeen OECD countries for evidence of variations in disinflationary credibility with monetary institutions. The paper does not find evidence that the costs of disinflation are lower in countries with independent central banks, even when differences in contracting behavior are taken into account. It also does not find evidence that central bank independence inhibits government collection of seignorage revenues or manipulation of economic policy for electoral gain. These results raise questions about some explanations of the negative correlation between central bank independence and inflation, as well as the empirical relevance of government time-inconsistancy problems as a source of inflation differences.

The Macroeconomic Consequences of Wage Indexation Revisited

The Macroeconomic Consequences of Wage Indexation Revisited PDF Author: Mr.Esteban Jadresic
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1451843232
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 55

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Book Description
Since the mid-1970s, there has been considerable research on the macroeconomic consequences of wage indexation. Nonetheless, until recently, this research had not explicitly explored the implications of contracts that index wages to lagged inflation, the usual type of wage indexation observed in practice. Drawing mainly on recent research by the author, this paper examines the consequences of wage indexation to lagged inflation on aggregate wage formation, the cost of disinflation under money- and exchange-rate-based stabilization, the variability of output under alternative shocks and policy regimes, the choice of exchange rate regime, and the level and variability of inflation.

Milton Friedman & Economic Debate in the United States, 1932–1972: Volume 1

Milton Friedman & Economic Debate in the United States, 1932–1972: Volume 1 PDF Author: Edward Nelson
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022668380X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 758

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Book Description
First in a two-volume study of Friedman’s long career: “No previous biographer has Nelson’s deep and sophisticated understanding of monetary economics.” —Economic History This study is the first to distill Nobel Prize winner Milton Friedman’s vast body of writings into an authoritative account of his research, his policy views, and his interventions in public debate. With this ambitious new work, Edward Nelson closes the gap: Milton Friedman and Economic Debate in the United States is the defining narrative on the famed economist, the first to grapple comprehensively with Friedman’s research output, economic framework, and legacy. This two-volume account provides a foundational introduction to Friedman’s role in several major economic debates that took place in the United States between 1932 and 1972. This first volume in the two-volume account takes the story through 1960, covering the period in which Friedman began and developed his research on monetary policy. It traces Friedman’s thinking from his professional beginnings in the 1930s as a combative young microeconomist, to his wartime years on the staff of the US Treasury, and his emergence in the postwar period as a leading proponent of monetary policy. As a fellow monetary economist, Nelson writes from a unique vantage point, drawing on both his own expertise in monetary analysis and his deep familiarity with Friedman’s writings. Using extensive documentation, the book weaves together Friedman’s research contributions and his engagement in public debate, providing an unparalleled analysis of Friedman’s views on the economic developments of his day. “Magisterial . . . For anyone wanting to understand the ideas that Friedman generated over his research career, this book is, and will remain for some time, the essential guide.” —Financial World