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Four types of ignorance

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  • Hansen, Lars Peter
  • Sargent, Thomas J.

Abstract

This paper studies alternative ways of representing uncertainty about a law of motion in a version of a classic macroeconomic targetting problem of Milton Friedman (1953). We study both “unstructured uncertainty” – ignorance of the conditional distribution of the target next period as a function of states and controls – and more “structured uncertainty” – ignorance of the probability distribution of a response coefficient in an otherwise fully trusted specification of the conditional distribution of next period׳s target. We study whether and how different uncertainties affect Friedman׳s advice to be cautious in using a quantitative model to fine tune macroeconomic outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Hansen, Lars Peter & Sargent, Thomas J., 2015. "Four types of ignorance," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 97-113.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:moneco:v:69:y:2015:i:c:p:97-113
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jmoneco.2014.12.008
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Lars Peter Hansen & Thomas J Sargent, 2014. "Robust Control and Model Uncertainty," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: UNCERTAINTY WITHIN ECONOMIC MODELS, chapter 5, pages 145-154, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    2. Lars Peter Hansen & Thomas J Sargent, 2014. "Three Types of Ambiguity," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: UNCERTAINTY WITHIN ECONOMIC MODELS, chapter 11, pages 379-430, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
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    4. Lars Peter Hansen & Thomas J Sargent, 2014. "Fragile Beliefs and the Price of Uncertainty," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: UNCERTAINTY WITHIN ECONOMIC MODELS, chapter 9, pages 293-330, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
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    10. Timothy Cogley & Riccardo Colacito & Lars Peter Hansen & Thomas J. Sargent, 2008. "Robustness and U.S. Monetary Policy Experimentation," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 40(8), pages 1599-1623, December.
    11. Li-Lin Ku & Chien-Pai Han, 2008. "Robust testing procedures of process locations," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 42(5), pages 579-595, October.
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    15. Lars Peter Hansen & Thomas J. Sargent, 2008. "Time Inconsistency of Robust Control?," Chapters, in: Roger E.A. Farmer (ed.), Macroeconomics in the Small and the Large, chapter 7, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    16. Bray,Francesca & Coclanis,Peter A. & Fields-Black,Edda L. & Schäfer,Dagmar (ed.), 2015. "Rice," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107044395, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Tetlow, Robert, 2019. "The monetary policy response to uncertain inflation persistence," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 5-8.
    2. Cosmin L. Ilut & Martin Schneider, 2022. "Modeling Uncertainty as Ambiguity: a Review," NBER Working Papers 29915, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Gai, Prasanna & Haworth, Cameron, 2023. "Macroprudential policymakers with cautious expectations," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 229(C).
    4. Yulei Luo & Jun Nie & Haijun Wang, 2023. "Ambiguous Consumption and Asset Allocation with Unknown Markovian Income Growth," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 24(2), pages 237-275, November.
    5. Bounader Lahcen & Traficante Guido, 2023. "Robustly Optimal Monetary Policy in a Behavioral Environment," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 23(1), pages 521-550, January.
    6. Lin, Qian & Luo, Yulei & Sun, Xianming, 2022. "Robust investment strategies with two risky assets," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    7. Yulei Luo & Jun Nie & Xiaowen Wang & Eric Young, 2021. "Production and Inventory Dynamics under Ambiguity Aversion," Research Working Paper RWP 21-05, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
    8. Luo, Yulei & Nie, Jun & Wang, Haijun, 2022. "Ignorance, pervasive uncertainty, and household finance," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    9. Stefania Minardi & Andrei Savochkin, 2017. "Characterizations of Smooth Ambiguity Based on Continuous and Discrete Data," Mathematics of Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 42(1), pages 167-178, January.

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