The output gap plays a crucial role in thinking of many inflation targeting central banks yet, the real time estimates of the output gap undergo substantial revisions as more data become available. In this paper, we use the state space framework to augment the simple Hodrick-Prescott filter with...

It is now widely understood how to obtain first-order accurate approximations to the solution to a dynamic, stochastic general equilibrium model (DSGE model). Such solutions are fairly easy to construct and useful for a wide variety of purposes. They are likely to be accurate enough to be a...

This paper examines the determinants of inflation forecast uncertainty using a panel of density forecasts from the Survey of Professional Forecasters (SPF). We show that previous studies based on aggregate data are biased due to heterogeneity of individual forecasts. Instead, we estimate a...

We present an algorithm and software routines for computing nth-order approximate solutions to dynamic, discrete-time rational expectations models around a nonstochastic steady state. We apply these routines to investigate the optimal monetary policy with commitment (and from a ``timeless...

The usual index of leading indicators has constant weights on its components and is therefore implicitly premised on the assumption that the dynamical properties of the economy remain the same over time and across phases of the business cycle. We explore the possibility that the business cycle...

In this paper, we consider a dynamic New Keynesian model of the small open economy in the light of bounded rationality. This entails private agents and the central bank updating their beliefs about the laws of motion of inflation, the output gap and real exchange rate when forming their optimal...

This paper presents some new estimates for the relationship between inflation and unemployment in Brazil based on a new Keynesian hypothesis about the behavior of the economy. Four main hypotheses are tested and sustained throughout the study: i) agents do not have perfect rationality; ii) the...

The strong consumption growth in a period of falling stock market and a moderate recession in the U.S. has sparked off a debate about the role of housing wealth as one of the determinants of consumption. The literature is divided over the issue whether the effect of change in the financial...