Inflation persistence and optimal monetary policy in the euro area

Pierpaolo Benigno and David Lopez-Salido

No 749, International Finance Discussion Papers from Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.)

Abstract: In this paper we first present supporting evidence of the existence of heterogeneity in inflation dynamics across euro area countries. Based on the estimation of New Phillips Curves for five major countries of the euro area, we find that there is significant inertial (backward looking) behavior in inflation in four of them, while inflation in Germany has a dominant forward looking component. In the second part of the paper we present an optimizing agent model for the euro area emphasizing the heterogeneity in inflation persistence across regions. Allowing for such a backward looking component will affect the evaluation of the degree of nominal rigidities relevant for the monetary policy design. We explore the welfare implications of this circumstance by comparing the adjustment of the economies and the area as a whole in response to terms-of-trade shocks under four monetary policy rules: fully optimal, optimal inflation targeting, HICP targeting and output gap stabilization.

Keywords: Inflation (Finance); Phillips curve; Euro (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2002
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eec and nep-mon
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (43)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Inflation Persistence and Optimal Monetary Policy in the Euro Area (2006)
Working Paper: Inflation persistence and optimal monetary policy in the Euro Area (2002)
Working Paper: Inflation persistence and optimal monetary policy in the euro area (2002)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:fip:fedgif:749

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