Monetary policy instruments differ in tightness-how closely they are linked to inflation-and transparency-how easily they can be monitored. Tightness is always desirable in a monetary policy instrument; when is transparency? When a government cannot commit to follow a given policy. We apply this...

Is the exchange rate or the money growth rate the better instrument of monetary policy? A common argument is that the exchange rate has a natural advantage because it is more transparent: it is easier for the public to monitor than the money growth rate. We formalize this argument in a simple...

Is the exchange rate or the money growth rate the better instrument of monetary policy? A common argument is that the exchange rate has a natural advantage because it is more transparent: it is easier for the public to monitor than the money growth rate. We formalize this argument in a simple...

In standard approaches to monetary policy, interest rate rules often lead to indeterminacy. Sophisticated policies, which depend on the history of private actions and can differ on and off the equilibrium path, can eliminate indeterminacy and uniquely implement any desired competitive...

How much discretion should the monetary authority have in setting its policy? This question is analyzed in an economy with an agreed-upon social welfare function that depends on the randomly fluctuating state of the economy. The monetary authority has private information about that state. In the...

We provide an introduction to optimal fiscal and monetary policy using the primal approach to optimal taxation. We use this approach to address how fiscal and monetary policy should be set over the long run and over the business cycle. We find four substantive lessons for policymaking: Capital...