The presence of a lower bound of zero on nominal interest rates has important implications for the conduct of optimal monetary policy. Standard rational expectations models can have alternative steady states as well as non-unique laws of motion, i.e. there can be possible sunspot equilibria....

This paper employs stochastic simulations of a small structural rational expectations model to investigate the consequences of the zero bound on nominal interest rates. We find that if the economy is subject to stochastic shocks similar in magnitude to those experienced in the U.S. over the...

This paper replicates the main analysis of Svensson (2015) with some expansion to the original analysis, mainly for the United States. Overall, the replication exercise successfully confirms the conclusions of Svensson (2015). In both Sweden and the United States, empirical evidence sup- ports...

The paper shows the advantages and handicaps of implementing an inflation target (IT) regime, from a Post-Keynesian and, thus, an institutional stance. It is Post-Keynesian as long as it does not perceive any benefit in the mainstream split between monetary and fiscal policies. And it is...

Two recent papers (Gonçalves and Carvalho, 2009; and Brito, 2010) hold contradictory views regarding the role of inflation targeting during periods of disinflation. The first paper claims that inflation targeting reduces sacrifice ratios-i.e., the ratio of output losses to the change in trend...

This paper surveys the empirical literature assessing the credibility of monetary policy inside an inflation targeting regime. A basic distinction is drawn between contributions relying on indirect or direct approaches. Whereas the former group of studies exhibits a common drawback, the latter...

Several recent studies imply that the response of national saving to fiscal policy is non-monotonic. In this paper, we use two data sets to search for the circumstances in which such non-monotonic responses arise: one refers to a sample of OECD countries, as in previous studies, and one to a...

In countries with credible inflation targeting, it seems plausible to suggest that instead of forming a rational expectation, some firms (inflation-targeters) might simply expect future inflation to always equal its target. This paper analyses the implications of this for optimal monetary policy...

Why is that the achievements of some disinflations from low and moderate peaks are longlived, whereas in others the gains in the inflationary front dissipate quickly? Based on an index of the sustainability of disinflations proposed in the paper, various competing explanations of what determines...

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...