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Optimal monetary policy with state-dependent pricing

Author

Listed:
  • Anton Nakov

    (Banco de España and ECB)

  • Carlos Thomas

    (Banco de España)

Abstract

We study optimal monetary policy from the timeless perspective in a general state-dependent pricing framework. Firms are monopolistic competitors and are subject to idiosyncratic menu cost shocks. We find that, under isoelastic preferences and no government spending, strict price stability is optimal both in the long run and in response to aggregate shocks. Key to this finding is an “envelope” property: at zero inflation, a marginal increase in the rate of inflation has no effect on firms’ profits and therefore has no effect on the rate of price adjustment. We offer an analytic solution which does not rely on local approximation or efficiency of the steady-state.

Suggested Citation

  • Anton Nakov & Carlos Thomas, 2011. "Optimal monetary policy with state-dependent pricing," Working Papers 1130, Banco de España.
    • Handle: RePEc:bde:wpaper:1130
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Michael Dotsey & Robert G. King & Alexander L. Wolman, 1999. "State-Dependent Pricing and the General Equilibrium Dynamics of Money and Output," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 114(2), pages 655-690.
    2. Bakhshi, Hasan & Khan, Hashmat & Rudolf, Barbara, 2007. "The Phillips curve under state-dependent pricing," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(8), pages 2321-2345, November.
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    8. Denny Lie, 2009. "State-dependent pricing and optimal monetary policy," Working Papers 09-20, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
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    13. James Costain & Anton Nakov, 2011. "Price Adjustments in a General Model of State‐Dependent Pricing," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 43(2‐3), pages 385-406, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Anton Nakov & Carlos Thomas, 2014. "Optimal Monetary Policy with State-Dependent Pricing," International Journal of Central Banking, International Journal of Central Banking, vol. 10(3), pages 49-94, September.
    2. Denny Lie, 2009. "State-dependent pricing and optimal monetary policy," Working Papers 09-20, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
    3. Kosuke Aoki, 2015. "Relative Prices and Inflation Stabilisation," UTokyo Price Project Working Paper Series 047, University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Economics.
    4. Shuhei Takahashi, 2018. "Does State-Dependent Wage Setting Generate Multiple Equilibria?," KIER Working Papers 991, Kyoto University, Institute of Economic Research.
    5. Zidong An & Salem Abo‐Zaid & Xuguang Simon Sheng, 2023. "Inattention and the impact of monetary policy," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 38(4), pages 623-643, June.
    6. Kosuke Aoki, 2015. "Relative Prices and Inflation Stabilization," The Japanese Economic Review, Japanese Economic Association, vol. 66(1), pages 35-59, March.
    7. Muhammad Ali Nasir & Milton Yago & Alaa M. Soliman & Junjie Wu, 2016. "Financial stability, wealth effects and optimal macroeconomic policy combination in the United Kingdom: A new-Keynesian dynamic stochastic general equilibrium framework," Cogent Economics & Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 4(1), pages 1136098-113, December.
    8. Shuhei Takahashi, 2017. "State Dependency in Price and Wage Setting," International Journal of Central Banking, International Journal of Central Banking, vol. 13(1), pages 151-189, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    monetary policy; state-dependent pricing; monopolistic competition;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation

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    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

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