In this paper we measure, at sectoral level, the sources of Spanish productivity growth, distinguishing among the roles played by labor productivity, the degree of factor substitutionand total factor productivity.

During the 1970s and early 1980s, Spain suffered high rates of inflation but inflation declined and by 1997 inflation had fallen to approximately 2 percent. To fight inflation, Spain implemented austere monetary programs, joined the EMS in 1989, enacted central bank autonomy in 1994, and...

This paper provides empirical evidence on the effectiveness of movements in nominal exchange rates in smooting cyclical imbalances between countries, as explained by the literature on optimal currency areas.

In this paper we construct a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model for a small open economy allowing for perfect capital mobility. The model incorporates price rigidities in monopolistically competitive goods and labor markets and real rigidities in the form of capital adjustment costs....

As the Spanish economy gets more integrated in international markets, competitiveness becomes a key determinant of the monetary transmission. In this paper we trace out the dynamic response of prices, output and the exchange rate following a monetary policy shock. We estimate a structural VAR...

The fiscal theory of the price level has challenged the conventional view that monetary factors drive prices and exchange rates and has also provided a rationale for fiscal restrictions in a monetary union. This paper reviews the main results and compelling criticisms of this theory, analyzing...

This paper is an attempt to provide an updated assessment of what we know and what do not know about the impact of monetary policy on the economy and what implications follow for the conduct of monetary policy in today's world. Firstly, we discuss the conditions under which monetary policy can...

The liquidity effect, defined as a decrease in nominal interest rates in response to a monetary expansion, is a major stylized fact of the business cycle. This paper seeks to understand under what conditions such an effect can be explained in a general equilibrium model with sticky prices and...