The Walsh Contracts for Central Bankers Are Optimal After All!
Candel-Sanchez and Campoy-Minarro (2004) argue that the Walsh linear inflation contract does not prove optimal when the government concerns itself about the cost of the central bank contract. This result relies on the authors. assumption that the participation constraint does not represent an effective constraint on the central banker's decision. Instead, the government can "impose" or "force" the contract on the central banker, even though the contract violates the participation constraint. We argue that such a contract does not make sense. The government can impose it, but it does not affect the central banker's incentives. The policy outcomes do not match those of commitment. Then we show that the Walsh linear inflation contract does produce the optimal outcome, even when the government cares about the cost of the contract.
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| Length: | 16 pages |
| Date of creation: | Apr 2006 |
| Date of revision: | |
| Publication status: | Published in Public Choice, April 2007 |
| Handle: | RePEc:uct:uconnp:2006-14 |
| Contact details of provider: | Postal: University of Connecticut 365 Fairfield Way, Unit 1063 Storrs, CT 06269-1063 Phone: (860) 486-4889 Fax: (860) 486-4463 Web page: http://www.econ.uconn.edu/ More information through EDIRC
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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
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