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Optimal Fiscal and Monetary Policy in a Medium-Scale Macroeconomic Model: Expanded Version

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Stephanie Schmitt-Grohe
Martin Uribe

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Abstract

In this paper, we study Ramsey-optimal fiscal and monetary policy in a medium-scale model of the U.S.\ business cycle. The model features a rich array of real and nominal rigidities that have been identified in the recent empirical literature as salient in explaining observed aggregate fluctuations. The main result of the paper is that price stability appears to be a central goal of optimal monetary policy. The optimal rate of inflation under an income tax regime is half a percent per year with a volatility of 1.1 percent. This result is surprising given that the model features a number of frictions that in isolation would call for a volatile rate of inflation---particularly nonstate-contingent nominal public debt, no lump-sum taxes, and sticky wages. Under an income-tax regime, the optimal income tax rate is quite stable, with a mean of 30 percent and a standard deviation of 1.1 percent. Simple monetary and fiscal rules are shown to implement a competitive equilibrium that mimics well the one induced by the Ramsey policy. When the fiscal authority is allowed to tax capital and labor income at different rates, optimal fiscal policy is characterized by a large and volatile subsidy on capital.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 11417.

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Date of creation: Jun 2005
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Publication status: published as Stephanie Schmitt-Grohé, Martín Uribe. "Optimal Fiscal and Monetary Policy in a Medium-Scale Macroeconomic Model," in Mark Gertler and Kenneth Rogoff, editors, "NBER Macroeconomics Annual 2005, Volume 20" MIT Press (2006)
Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:11417

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy
E61 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Policy Objectives; Policy Designs and Consistency; Policy Coordination
E63 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Comparative or Joint Analysis of Fiscal and Monetary Policy; Stabilization

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    Other versions:
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  5. Andrew T. Levin & Alexei Onatski & John C. Williams & Noah Williams, 2005. "Monetary policy under uncertainty in micro-founded macroeconometric models," Working Papers in Applied Economic Theory 2005-15, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. [Downloadable!]
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  6. Pau Rabanal & Jordi Galí, 2005. "Technology Shocks and Aggregate Fluctuations: How Well Does the RBC Model Fit Postwar U.S. Data?," IMF Working Papers 04/234, International Monetary Fund. [Downloadable!]
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  7. Stephanie Schmitt-Grohe & Martin Uribe, 2004. "Optimal Operational Monetary Policy in the Christiano-Eichenbaum-Evans Model of the U.S. Business Cycle," NBER Working Papers 10724, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  8. David Altig & Lawrence J. Christiano & Martin Eichenbaum & Jesper Linde, 2004. "Firm-specific capital, nominal rigidities and the business cycle," Working Paper Series WP-05-01, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. [Downloadable!]
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  12. Enrique G. Mendoza & Assaf Razin & Linda L. Tesar, 1995. "Effective Tax Rates in Macroeconomics: Cross-Country Estimates of Tax Rates on Factor Incomes and Consumption," NBER Working Papers 4864, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  13. Lutz Weinke & Tommy Sveen, 2003. "Inflation and Output Dynamics with Firm-owned Capital," Economics Working Papers 702, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra. [Downloadable!]
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  16. Erceg, Christopher J. & Henderson, Dale W. & Levin, Andrew T., 2000. "Optimal monetary policy with staggered wage and price contracts," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 281-313, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  17. Kimball, Miles S, 1995. "The Quantitative Analytics of the Basic Neomonetarist Model," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 27(4), pages 1241-77, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  21. Argia M. Sbordone & Timothy Cogley, 2004. "A Search for a Structural Phillips Curve," Computing in Economics and Finance 2004 291, Society for Computational Economics.
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  22. Schmitt-Grohe, Stephanie & Uribe, Martin, 2004. "Solving dynamic general equilibrium models using a second-order approximation to the policy function," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 755-775, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  23. Marvin Goodfriend & Robert G. King, 1998. "The new neoclassical synthesis and the role of monetary policy," Working Paper 98-05, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. [Downloadable!]
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  24. Rotemberg, Julio J & Woodford, Michael, 1992. "Oligopolistic Pricing and the Effects of Aggregate Demand on Economic Activity," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 100(6), pages 1153-1207, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  25. Schmitt-Grohe, Stephanie & Uribe, Martin, 2004. "Optimal fiscal and monetary policy under imperfect competition," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 183-209, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  26. Calvo, Guillermo A., 1983. "Staggered prices in a utility-maximizing framework," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 383-398, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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    Other versions:
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, 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.)

  1. NAKAJIMA Tomoyuki, 2009. "Optimal Monetary Policy with Imperfect Unemployment Insurance," Discussion papers 09014, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Jaromir Benes & Tibor Hledik & Michael Kumhof & David Vavra, 2005. "An Economy in Transition and DSGE: What the Czech National Bank’s New Projection Model Needs," Working Papers 2005/12, Czech National Bank, Research Department. [Downloadable!]
  3. Julien Matheron & Céline Poilly, 2006. "How Well Does a Small Structural Model with Sticky Prices and Wages Fit Postwar U.S. Data?," THEMA Working Papers 2006-11, THEMA (THéorie Economique, Modélisation et Applications), Université de Cergy-Pontoise. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Carlos De Resende & Nooman Rebei, 2008. "The Welfare Implications of Fiscal Dominance," Working Papers 08-28, Bank of Canada. [Downloadable!]
  5. Levin, Andrew & López-Salido, J David & Yun, Tack, 2007. "Strategic Complementarities and Optimal Monetary Policy," CEPR Discussion Papers 6423, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  6. Robert Amano & Steve Ambler & Nooman Rebei, 2006. "The Macroeconomic Effects of Non-Zero Trend Inflation," Working Papers 06-34, Bank of Canada. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  7. William T. Gavin & Benjamin D. Keen & Michael R. Pakko, 2007. "Inflation risk and optimal monetary policy," Working Papers 2006-035, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  8. Andrea Colciago & Anton Muscatelli & Tiziano Ropele & Patrizio Tirelli, 2006. "The Role of Fiscal Policy in a Monetary Union: Are National Automatic Stabilizers Effective?," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  9. Ruy Lama & Juan Pablo Medina, 2007. "Optimal Monetary Policy in a Small Open Economy Under Segmented Asset Markets and Sticky Prices," IMF Working Papers 07/217, International Monetary Fund. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  10. Stephanie Schmitt-Grohé & Martín Uribe, 2006. "Optimal fiscal and monetary policy in a medium-scale macroeconomic model," Working Paper Series 612, European Central Bank. [Downloadable!]
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