This paper quantitatively evaluates a steady-state inflation rate that is considered desirable from the perspective of social welfare, using a model describing the Japanese economy. Specifically, it begins by setting out points concerning the costs and benefits that accompany inflation. We build...

This paper investigates the price-setting behavior in Japan by using the CPI micro data in the Retail Price Survey from 1989 to 2003. We establish the four facts as follows. First, the frequency of price changes for goods is high while that for services is low. The frequency of price changes for...

After the collapse of the asset price bubble, especially over the period of declining prices of goods and services from the latter 1990s until recently, it is said that certain Japanese firms have been working to stimulate demand by active price adjustment. Nevertheless, over the same period,...