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How Much Inflation is Necessary to Grease the Wheels?

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  • Kim, Jinill
  • Ruge-Murcia, Francisco J.

Abstract

This paper studies Tobin's proposition that inflation "greases" the wheels of the labor market. The analysis is carried out using a simple dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model with asymmetric wage adjustment costs. Optimal inflation is determined by a benevolent government that maximizes the households' welfare. The Simulated Method of Moments is used to estimate the nonlinear model based on its second-order approximation. Econometric results indicate that nominal wages are downwardly rigid and that the optimal level of grease inflation for the U.S. economy is about 1.2 percent per year, with a 95% confidence interval ranging from 0.2 to 1.6 percent.

Suggested Citation

  • Kim, Jinill & Ruge-Murcia, Francisco J., 2007. "How Much Inflation is Necessary to Grease the Wheels?," Cahiers de recherche 2007-10, Universite de Montreal, Departement de sciences economiques.
    • Handle: RePEc:mtl:montde:2007-10
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Oimal inflation; asymmetric adjustment costs; nonlinear dynamics;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E4 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates
    • E5 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit

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