The fiscal theory of the price level (FTPL) has attracted much attention but disagreement remains concerning its defining characteristics. Some writers have emphasized implications regarding interest-rate pegging and determinacy of rational expectations solutions, whereas others have stressed...

It is argued that learnability/E-stability is a necessary condition for a RE solution to be plausible. A class of linear models considered by Evans, G.W. and Honkapohja, S. [2001. Learning and Expectations in Macroeconomics, Princeton University Press.] is shown to include all models of the form...

The paper reconsiders the role of money and banking in monetary policy analysis by including a banking sector and money in an optimizing model otherwise of a standard type. The model is implemented quantitatively, with a calibration based on US data. It is reasonably successful in providing an...

Recent analysis by Clarida, Galí, and Gertler (1999), Jensen (2002), Svensson and Woodford (1999), Walsh (2002), and especially Woodford (1999a, 1999b, 2000) has been highly productive in advancing the profession’s understanding of optimal monetary policy. Specifically, these papers emphasize...

Few economic events of recent years have attracted as much attention as the announcement by the People?s Bank of China on July 21, 2005, that henceforth the exchange rate of the Renminbi (RMB) would not be kept fixed in relation to the U.S. dollar, but would be managed relative to a basket of...

During the early months of 2003, there was something of a buzz in monetary policy circles about the prospect of a move toward inflation targeting as a policy regime for the Federal Reserve. One leading manifestation was a prominent article in the Wall Street Journal on March 31 concerning the...

The SOMC is a collection of individuals, so we do not always agree fully on all issues. There are certain similarities of viewpoint across individuals, however, that give a recognizable flavor to most of the committee?s analyses and positions. Three leading examples are beliefs that governmental...

At our last meeting of the Shadow Open Market Committee, in April, I discussed Japanese monetary policy. Specifically, I argued (i) that it has been overly restrictive for almost a decade, (ii) that the Bank of Japan?s policy changes of March 19, 2001, are welcome but probably insufficient,...

The United States is almost alone among industrial countries in having no monetary standard. It has, that is, no institutionalized guarantee or even explicit objective concerning the purchasing power of its money. Between 1971 and 1990, this was true of most industrial countries but since then...