The worst global downturn since the Great Depression has caused ballooning budget deficits in most nations, as tax revenues collapse and governments bail out financial institutions and attempt countercyclical fiscal policy. With notable exceptions, most economists accept the desirability of...

The paper deals with the success of price controls in stabilizing high inflation rates and their effects on the real economy under an imperfect competition setting derived by optimal maximization. Our model builds on Helpman’s work of price controls and imperfect competition, and incorporates...

In the wake of the global energy crisis, many European countries used energy price controls to fight inflation and to stabilize the economy. Despite its wide adoption, many economists remained skeptical. In this paper, we argue that price controls should be part of the policy toolbox to respond...

In the wake of the global energy crisis, many European countries used energy price controls to fight inflation and to stabilize the economy. Despite its wide adoption, many economists remained skeptical. In this paper, we argue that price controls should be part of the policy toolbox to respond...

In the present paper we question the mainstream diagnosis of Germany's post-2000 stagnation as well as the prescribed remedies. We show that the 'institutional sclerosis' view of Germany's stagnation is unfounded and that therefore the political measures proposed and actually taken are...

The major overhaul of the national consumer prices index (NCPI), upon which the health index is based, is an opportunity to adjust the methodology to make inflation measurement more accurate and ensure that the index is representative. The new index will enter into force in January 2014. In...

The new national consumer price index (NCPI) on which the health index is based came into effect in January 2014. It underwent full revision, as it does every eight years. This brings to an end the significant obsolescence of the index, in which the weighting scheme increasingly failed to...

The study is an empirical investigation of inflation convergence between CEFTA and EU countries. The question of both groups convergence as well as convergence of each individual countries within those groups is particularly discussed in the paper. Detailed analysis was carried out by use of...

Inflationary processes are closely linked to wage-price spirals - such spirals can be triggered by many factors, including natural resource price shocks, depreciation and inflationary demand. Empirically, the correlation between changes in nominal unit labour costs and the price level is strong...