Arbeitspapier

The optimal inflation target and the natural rate of interest

We study how changes in the steady-state real interest rate affect the optimal inflation target in a New Keynesian DSGE model with trend inflation and a lower bound on the nominal interest rate. In this setup, a lower steady-state real interest rate increases the probability of hitting the lower bound. That effect can be counteracted by an increase in the inflation target, but the resulting higher steadystate inflation has a welfare cost in and of itself. We use an estimated DSGE model to quantify that tradeoff and determine the implied optimal inflation target, conditional on the monetary policy rule in place before the financial crisis. The relation between the steady-state real interest rate and the optimal inflation target is downward sloping. While the increase in the optimal inflation rate is in general smaller than the decline in the steady-state real interest rate, in the currently empirically relevant region the slope of the relation is found to be close to -1. That slope is robust to allowing for parameter uncertainty. Under "make-up" strategies such as price level targeting, the required increase in the optimal inflation target under a lower steady-state real interest rate is, however, much smaller.

Sprache
Englisch

Erschienen in
Series: Working Papers ; No. 19-18

Klassifikation
Wirtschaft
Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
Monetary Policy
Central Banks and Their Policies
Thema
inflation target
effective lower bound
natural interest rate
steady-state real interest rate
Inflationssteuerung
Phillips-Kurve
DSGE-Modell
Steady-State-Ökonomie

Ereignis
Geistige Schöpfung
(wer)
Andrade, Philippe
Galí, Jordi
Le Bihan, Hervé
Matheron, Julien
Ereignis
Veröffentlichung
(wer)
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
(wo)
Boston, MA
(wann)
2019

DOI
doi:10.29412/res.wp.2019.18
Handle
Letzte Aktualisierung
10.03.2025, 11:44 MEZ

Datenpartner

Dieses Objekt wird bereitgestellt von:
ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften - Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft. Bei Fragen zum Objekt wenden Sie sich bitte an den Datenpartner.

Objekttyp

  • Arbeitspapier

Beteiligte

  • Andrade, Philippe
  • Galí, Jordi
  • Le Bihan, Hervé
  • Matheron, Julien
  • Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

Entstanden

  • 2019

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