We challenge the widely held belief that New-Keynesian models cannot predict optimal positive inflation rates. In fact these are justi…fied by the Phelps argument that monetary fi…nancing can alleviate the burden of distortionary taxation. We obtain this result because, in contrast with...

A prominent strand of literature featuring large monopoly unions and monopolistically competitive goods markets has concluded that design of the monetary regime can influence equilibrium unemployment as well as inflation. In this paper, it is shown that this non-neutrality result crucially...

We analyze, in this paper, DSNK general equilibrium model with indivisible labor where firms may belong to two different final goods producing sectors: one where wages and employment are determined in competitive labor markets and the orther where wages and employment are the result of a...

We challenge the widely held belief that New-Keynesian models cannot predict optimal positive inflation rates. In fact these are justified by the Phelps argument that monetary financing can alleviate the burden of distortionary taxation. We obtain this result because, in contrast with previous...

Empirical contributions show that wage re-negotiations take place while expiring contracts are still in place. This is captured by assuming that nominal wages are pre-determined. As a consequence, wage setters act as Stackelberg leaders, whereas in the typical New Keynesian model the...

Recent developments in macroeconomics resurrect the view that wel- fare costs of inflation arise because the latter acts as a tax on money balances. Empirical contributions show that wage re-negotiations take place while expiring contracts are still in place. Bringing these seemingly unrelated...

We challenge the widely held belief that New Keynesian models cannot predict an optimal positive inflation rate. In fact we find that even for the US economy, characterized by relatively small government size, optimal trend inflation is justified by the Phelps argument that the inflation tax...

Disclosure of monetary policy targets reduces unemployment uncertainty at the expense of higher inflation uncertainty, thereby posing a dilemma for monetary policymakers.

In this paper we analyze a general equilibrium DSNK model characterized by labor indivisibilities, unemployment and a unionized labor market. The presence of monopoly unions introduces real wage rigidities in the model. We show that as in Blanchard Galì (2005) the so called "divine coincidence"...

In New Keynesian models nominal rigidities determine socially ineffi - cient outcomes. Our paper reverses this view: properly designed monetary policies may take advantage of predetermined nominal wages to discipline monopolistic wage setters. This, in turn, requires accepting a non-zero in-...