We propose a method to measure the welfare cost of economic fluctuations that does not require full specification of consumer preferences and instead uses asset prices. The method is based on the marginal cost of consumption fluctuations, the per unit benefit of a marginal reduction in...

We present a model in which inflation has a systematic effect on relative prices and welfare. The model focuces on the microeconomics of trade under inflation, and in particular, the role of long-term trading relationships in markets characterized by imperfect information.

This paper examines price and inflation convergence between three European countries (Italy, Spain and the UK) and a European idiosyncratic average and, alternatively, between them and Germany since the beginning of the 80's.

In this paper, we characterize conditions under which interest rate feedback rules wherby the nominal interest rate is set as an increasing function of the inflation rate generate multiple equilibria. We show that these conditions depend not only on the fiscal regime (as emphasized in the fiscal...

In the case of the consumer price index the importance of a seasonally adjusted measure lies in the possibility of promptly identifying turning points in inflation. The focus of this paper is the so-called "cost-of-living" index, the most used measure of Italian inflation. Our aim is to identify...