We use a standard new Keynesian model to evaluate the disinflation cost in a small open economy vis-à-vis a closed economy. Three measures of the cost are evaluated: the sacrifice ratio, the central bank’s loss, and the welfare of the representative agent. We show that in the small open...

We use an incomplete markets economy to quantify the distribution of welfare gains and losses of the US “Volcker” disinflation. In the long run households prefer low inflation, but disinflation requires a transition period and a redistribution from net nominal borrowers to net nominal...

The macroeconomic costs of disinflation are considered for the United States in a rational expectations macroeconometric model with sticky prices and imperfect information regarding monetary policy objectives. The analysis centers on simulation experiments using the Board’s new quarterly...

The 1989 Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act provides a natural experiment in which the effects of institutional change on economic relationships can be studied. The Act set price stability as the single objective of monetary policy and gave the Bank great independence in achieving that goal. We...

This paper investigates the relationship between trade openness and the sacrifice ratio for 126 countries from 1973 to 2007. The instrumental variable quantile regression method is used to explain heterogeneous impact of openness on sacrifice ratio, where openness is endogenous. Empirical...

This work adds to Lucas (2000) by providing analytical solutions to two problems that are solved only numerically by the author. The first part uses a theorem in control theory (Arrow's sufficiency theorem) to provide sufficiency conditions to characterize the optimum in a shopping-time problem...

This paper analyzes a nominal anchor exchange rate policy as a domestic distortion, in the tradition of international trade theory. It is shown that, in addition to the problems of sustainability and exit pinpointed in the exchange rate literature, a nominal anchor exchange rate policy, while in...

This paper analyzes the welfare costs related to changes in monetary policy and trend inflation in the Postwar U.S. economy. We use a medium-scale New Keynesian DSGE model and find the following results. First, changes in monetary policy and trend inflation play an essential role in reducing...