This paper considers a central puzzle of central bank independence: why politicians would agree to establish such a bank, when the consequence is giving up a substantial degree of control over the money supply and price levels. I suggest that politicians agree to establish independent central...

This paper studies the design of optimal monetary policy (in terms of unconstrained Ramsey allocation) in a framework with sticky prices and matching frictions. Furthermore I consider the role of real wage rigidities. Optimal policy features significant deviations from price stability in...