In this Paper, we analyse the implications of price setting restrictions for the conduct of cyclical fiscal and monetary policy. We consider an environment with monopolistic competitive firms, a shopping time technology, prices set one period in advance, and government expenditures that must be...

A target for the short-term nominal interest rate does not pin down realized inflation. Neither does it pin down the term premia. Short and long rates are threrefore independent monetary policy instruments. A target of the term structure is equivalent to a peg of the returns on state-contingent...

Under a monetary policy rule for the nominal interest rate, i.e. the return on risk-free short-term nominal bonds, there may be a unique local equilibrium, but there are in general multiple global equilibria. We show that the appropriate interest rate instruments under uncertainty are...

Nominal interest rates typically approach the zero-lower bound during a financial crisis. This is a constraint on optimal monetary policy: In a model with financial frictions, policy would set negative nominal interest rates in response to increases in credit spreads. We find that fiscal policy...

This paper assesses the relevance of the exchange rate regime for stabilization policy. Using both fiscal and monetary policy, we conclude that the exchange rate regime is irrelevant. This is the case independently of the severity of price rigidities, independently of asymmetries across...

We revisit the issue of multiplicity of equilibria when monetary policy is conducted with either the interest rate or the money supply as the sole instrument of policy. We show that in standard monetary models there are interest rate feedback rules, and also money supply rules, that implement a...

How should monetary and fiscal policy react to adverse financial shocks? If monetary policy is constrained by the zero lower bound on the nominal interest rate, subsidising the interest rate on loans is the optimal policy. The subsidies can mimic movements in the interest rate and can therefore...

When the zero lower bound on nominal interest rates binds, monetary policy cannot provide appropriate stimulus. We show that, in the standard New Keynesian model, tax policy can deliver such stimulus at no cost and in a time-consistent manner. There is no need to use inefficient policies such as...

When the zero lower bound on nominal interest rates binds, monetary policy cannot provide appropriate stimulus. We show that, in the standard New Keynesian model, tax policy can deliver such stimulus at no cost and in a time-consistent manner. There is no need to use inefficient policies such as...

Can both short and long-term interest rates be targeted independently? Can the target of the term structure help solve the problem of multiplicity of equilibria that occurs when only the short rate is targeted? Both questions are addressed, and the answer is yes to both.