An approach to decomposing and interpreting the inflation process is proposed. It suggests that the low U.S. inflation rate in recent years reflects a structural development, but that the low levels of unemployment may be a mainly cyclical phenomenon.

While much attention has focused on the factors that brought about the so-called new economy, much less attention has been paid to optimal policy responses following the establishment of the new economy. In the third article, Gilbert Cette and Christian Pfister from the Bank of France provide...