Inflation Aversion and Exit Probabilities in the Monetary Unions

The paper considers a monetary union composed of two representative countries characterized by different inflation aversions. The model derives Nash equilibria after a country-specific shock in which the countries have a costly option to abandon the common currency. The main results are that the higher the inflation aversion of the country affected by the shock, the lower its exit probability. The higher the inflation aversion in both countries, the lower the probability that the country not directly hit also abandons the monetary union (contagion).     

Inflation Targeting and Inflation Persistence

This paper argues that the adoption of an inflation target reduces the persistence of inflation.We develop the theoretical literature on inflation persistence by introducing a Taylor Rule for monetary policy into a model of persistence and showing that inflation targets reduce inflation persistence.We investigate changes in the time series properties of inflation in seven countries that introduced inflation targets in the late 1980s or early 1990s.We find that the persistence of inflation is greatly reduced or eliminated following the introduction of inflation targets.     

通货膨胀预期与通货膨胀加速的关系及治理对策

将预期引入通货膨胀理论研究,是现代通货膨胀理论的一个重大贡献。通货膨胀预期作为一种主观心理要素已成为客观通货膨胀的“助推剂”与“加速器”。稳定并消除通货膨胀预期,遏止通货膨胀加速,不仅要从生产、流通、分配、消费四个领域加大力度,还要使通货膨胀预期收益不断降低。不断提高劳动者的工资收入,使之指数化、法制化则是遏止通货膨胀的根本之策。     

中国通货膨胀率及其波动关系分析

有关通货膨胀率和通货膨胀率波动影响关系,存在F riedm an-B a ll和Cuk ierm an-M e ltzer两种假说,即存在通货膨胀率及其波动的相互影响关系。使用GARCH和TGARCH模型,选择中国1993~2004年月度通货膨胀率数据,检验结果表明F riedm an-B a ll假说成立,稳健的货币政策对经济发展有积极作用。     

通货膨胀不确定性研究综述

通货膨胀不确定性的发生使价格信号失真,资源配置扭曲,是通货膨胀福利损失的真正症结所在.本文从通货膨胀不确定性的度量方法、通货膨胀和通货膨胀不确定性之间的关系、通货膨胀不确定性对实际经济的影响以及治理通货膨胀不确定性的货币政策等几个方面回顾通货膨胀不确定性的研究成果.为减轻通货膨胀不确定性对经济系统的危害,建议我国货币当局建立通货膨胀预期调查数据库,并把通货膨胀不确定性作为监督宏观经济运行的一项重要指标予以重点关注和有效控制,评价货币政策效果时把通货膨胀不确定性指标作为一个参考依据.更为重要的是,控制通货膨胀不确定性应成为政府治理通货膨胀的理论和政策基础.     

Inflation and the fiscal limit

We use a rational expectations framework to assess the implications of rising debt in an environment with a “fiscal limit”. The fiscal limit is defined as the point where the government no longer has the ability to finance higher debt levels by increasing taxes, so either an adjustment to fiscal spending or monetary policy must occur to stabilize debt. We give households a joint probability distribution over the various policy adjustments that may occur, as well as over the timing of when the fiscal limit is hit. One policy option that stabilizes debt is a passive monetary policy, which generates a burst of inflation that devalues the existing nominal debt stock. The probability of this outcome places upward pressure on inflation expectations and poses a substantial challenge to a central bank pursuing an inflation target. The distribution of outcomes for the path of future inflation has a fat right tail, revealing that only a small set of outcomes imply dire inflationary scenarios. Avoiding these scenarios, however, requires the fiscal authority to renege on some share of future promised transfers.     

Inflation and the Impact of Budgets

This article focuses on the adjustment of budget figures for the effect of inflation on the value of government debt. It asks whether such adjustment improves their performance as a measure of 'fiscal impact'. If inflation significantly influences the impact of budgets on the real economy, policy-makers may make inappropriate fiscal policy decisions if they are guided by unadjusted budget figures. The article argues that if agents perceive holdings of government debt as part of their wealth, changes in the real value of debt will have an effect on consumption behaviour. Therefore to assess the impact of fiscal policy on consumption it may be necessary to adjust budget figures so that they accurately indicate changes in the real value of debt held by the private sector. This article adjusts a series of structural public sector borrowing requirements (PSBR) for the effect of inflation on the real value of government debt held by the private sector. An empirical analysis concludes that the inflation-adjusted budget series provides a superior measure of fiscal impact on consumption, and hence the real economy.     

Delays of Inflation Stabilizations

In some new political economic models, delays of stabilizations result from coordination problems caused by collective choice-making mechanisms. Although several previous studies have tested the effects of political instability and fragmentation on seigniorage, deficits, or inflation, no direct tests of the influence of these factors on the delays of stabilizations have previously been undertaken. This paper reports the results of such tests. The degree of fragmentation of the political system and the level of inflation are identified as important determinants of the timing of inflation stabilizations.     

Scanner Data and the Measurement of Inflation

This paper outlines the potential use of bar-code scanner data from retailers for the measurement of inflation. The source benefits from its extensive coverage in providing data on prices, quantities and values of transactions of each model of a good sold. Relative weights can thus be ascribed to price changes in both base and current months at a highly detailed level which allows us to estimate substitution bias. Methods of adjusting for quality changes can be considered. The dummy variable hedonic approach is compared with a superlative, exact hedonic approach and a matching technique akin to that used by statistical offices.     

通货膨胀与社会福利损失

通货膨胀到底对经济有多大的影响?这是经济学家和各级政府所关心的问题.本文按照Lucas(2000)的方法,在Gong和Zou(2001)给出的带有人们对社会地位的追求和消费品及投资品的Cash-in-Advance约束的模型的基础上分析了通货膨胀对社会福利的影响,给出了通货膨胀的福利损失的估计.     

通胀烦恼

策划前言 截至2011年1月28日,全国作物受旱面积7740万亩,257万人、279万头大牲畜因旱出现饮水困难。旱区主要集中在北方冬麦区,一些地区长达100多天无有效降雨。对中国而言,赶上三件事,基本就躲不过通货膨胀：粮食歉收,经济过热,货币与信贷过量发行与投放。     

关于我国当前通货膨胀问题的思考

文章对2009年1月到10月的主要的宏观经济运行数据进行分析,预计未来中国的经济将继续回暖。从前十个月的经济数据可知,目前经济处于流动性过剩,但国家为了进一步巩固经济回升的基础,将继续实行适度宽松的货币政策。数据分析显示通缩压力进一步减轻,通胀预期将进一步增强。基于上述分析,提出了政府、企业和居民应对未来通货膨胀的几点对策。     

Commodity Prices and the New Inflation

The intention of the article is to explore trends in economics and sociology, as well as other science disciplines, like history, psychology and anthropology, and investigate the interdisciplinary exchanges that have taken place, leading to convergences and divergences between academic subjects. The “imperialism of economics” is increasingly approaching traditional academic fields of history, psychology, and sociology. However, the article concludes that sociology’s public reputation may have declined, while simultaneously economics is shifting its attention to the social dimension of economic behavior and moving toward the other social sciences; a process which has been coined “social-scienciation.” The argument is that those developments can also be seen as chances to upgrade the social sciences “around” economics. The described process also aligns with recent talk about a need for interdisciplinary studies when this article adopts a different take on the issues of interdisciplinarity and embeddedness.     

Inflation and Deflation

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