American Economic Journal:
Macroeconomics
ISSN 1945-7707 (Print) | ISSN 1945-7715 (Online)
Welfare-Based Optimal Monetary Policy with Unemployment and Sticky Prices: A Linear-Quadratic Framework
American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics
(pp. 130–62)
Abstract
We derive a linear-quadratic model that is consistent with sticky prices and search and matching frictions in the labor market. We show that the second-order approximation to the welfare of the representative agent depends on inflation and "gaps" that involve current and lagged unemployment. Our approximation makes explicit how welfare costs are generated by the presence of search frictions. These costs are distinct from the costs associated with relative price dispersion and fluctuations in consumption that appear in standard new Keynesian models. We show the labor market structure has important implications for optimal monetary policy. (JEL E24, E31, E52)Citation
Ravenna, Federico, and Carl E. Walsh. 2011. "Welfare-Based Optimal Monetary Policy with Unemployment and Sticky Prices: A Linear-Quadratic Framework." American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics 3 (2): 130–62. DOI: 10.1257/mac.3.2.130Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- E24 Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital
- E31 Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
- E52 Monetary Policy