The opportunistic approach to monetary policy is an influential but untested model of optimal monetary policy. We provide the first tests of the model, using US data from 1983Q1 to 2004Q1. Our results support the opportunistic approach. We find that policy-makers respond to the gap between...

"This article analyzes the impact of uncertainty about the true state of the economy on monetary policy rules in the United States since the early 1980s. Extending the Taylor rule to allow for this type of uncertainty, we find evidence that the predictions of the theoretical literature on...