This paper is the first to study optimal Ramsey monetary policy in a search and matching model that combines real wage rigidity and decreasing returns to scale in production. Adding decreasing returns to scale significantly reduces the trade-off between employment and inflation stabilization...

This paper proposes a new approach to evaluate the macroeconomic effects of the Hartz IV reform in Germany, which reduced the generosity of long-term unemployment benefits. We use a model with different unemployment durations, where the reform initiates both a partial effect and an equilibrium...

This paper shows that the matching function and the Beveridge curve in the United States exhibit strong nonlinearities over the business cycle. These patterns can be replicated by enhancing a search and matching model with idiosyncratic productivity shocks for new contacts. Large negative...