The existence of nominal rigidities and inflation differentials between countries offers two of the main rationales for an inflation buffer in a monetary union where monetary policy is oriented towards an area-wide inflation objective. Evidence accumulated since 2003 suggests that nominal...

For a quarter of a century, the western world has enjoyed a macroeconomic environment characterized by low and stable inflation. Over the last two years, this benign state has dramatically changed. In America and Europe, inflation has resurged with unexpected vigor. Treated at first by central...