In recent years the New Keynesian Model with price stickiness of the Calvo type has become the most widely used theoretical framework for addressing various normative issues such as how optimal monetary and fiscal policy should be conducted. However, the New Keynesian Model has been criticized...

It is often suggested that non-linear models are needed to capture business cycle features. In this paper, we subject this view to some critical analysis. We examine two types of non-linear models designed to capture the bounce-back effect in US expansions. This means that these non-linear...

This paper reviews the design and performance of monetary policy in South Africa (SA) during 1994-2004. Quantitative indexes of transparency reveal a strong rise in the transparency and accountability of monetary policy between 1994 and 2004. Inflation and interest rate expectations data and...

A recent paper by Kraay (2003) documents the lack of any systematic associationbetween monetary policy and the outcome of a speculative attack. This paper extendsKraay’s work by introducing an improved measure of monetary policy and an additionalcountry-specific fundamental, short-term...

This paper develops a business cycle model with a financial intermediation sector. Financial wealth is defined as a predetermined state variable. Both, the additional sector of financial intermediaries and predetermination of financial wealth, affect the demand for real financial wealth. If real...

In most instances, the dynamic response of monetary and other policies to shocks is infrequent and lumpy. The same holds for the microeconomic response of some of the most important economic variables, such as investment, labor demand, and prices. We show that the standard practice of estimating...

Relative change in agricultural prices determines farmers` investment decisions, productivity and income. Thus, understanding the factors that influence agricultural prices is fundamental for sustainable growth in this sector and the rest of the economy. This paper investigates the short- and...

Uma avaliação empírica da existência de racionamento de crédito, segundo Stiglitz e Weiss (1981), requer o estudo do impacto da política monetária sobre o mercado de crédito, em especial sobre a taxa de juros dos empréstimos. Desta forma, o objetivo deste artigo é analisar as...