This paper derives loss functions for monetary policy that are grounded in the welfare of private agents, for optimizing models with nominal price rigidities. Inflation stabilization enhances welfare, insofar as variable inflation results in real distortions when prices are not adjusted...

This paper considers whether the development of electronic money' poses any threat to the ability of central banks to control the value of their national currencies through conventional monetary policy. It argues that even if the demand for base money for use in facilitating transactions is...

It is common to analyze the effects of alternative monetary policy commitments under the assumption of fully model-consistent expectations. This implicitly assumes unrealistic cognitive abilities on the part of economic decision makers. The relevant question, however, is not whether the...