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Optimal monetary policy with heterogeneous agents (Updated September 2019)

Author

Listed:
  • Galo Nuño

    (Banco de España)

  • Carlos Thomas

    (Banco de España)

Abstract

We analyze optimal monetary policy under commitment in an economy with uninsurable idiosyncratic risk, long-term nominal claims and costly inflation. Our model features two prominent redistributive channels of monetary policy: the classic Fisherian channel, and unhedged interest rate exposure (URE). The former introduces a “redistributive inflationary bias”, stemming from the fact that debtors (who benefit from inflation) have a higher marginal utility than creditors. This bias is counteracted over time by a disinflationary motive: a commitment to low future inflation raises bond prices, benefiting bond-issuing households (i.e. those with negative URE), who also have a higher marginal utility than bond-purchasing ones. The result is optimal inflation front-loading. Under certain conditions, both motives cancel out asymptotically and optimal long-run inflation is zero. Numerically, we find that optimal policy achieves first-order consumption and welfare redistribution vis-à-vis a zero inflation policy.

Suggested Citation

  • Galo Nuño & Carlos Thomas, 2016. "Optimal monetary policy with heterogeneous agents (Updated September 2019)," Working Papers 1624, Banco de España, revised Sep 2019.
    • Handle: RePEc:bde:wpaper:1624
    as

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    File URL: https://www.bde.es/f/webbde/SES/Secciones/Publicaciones/PublicacionesSeriadas/DocumentosTrabajo/16/Fich/dt1624e.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Optimal monetary policy with heterogeneous agents
      by Christian Zimmermann in NEP-DGE blog on 2016-11-10 21:12:53

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    Cited by:

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    2. Ben Moll, 2020. "The Research Agenda: Ben Moll on the Rich Interactions between Inequality and the Macroeconomy," EconomicDynamics Newsletter, Review of Economic Dynamics, vol. 21(2), November.
    3. Adrien Auclert & Ludwig Straub & Matthew Rognlie, 2019. "Micro Jumps, Macro Humps: monetary policy and business cycles in an estimated HANK model," 2019 Meeting Papers 1449, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    4. Stefano Neri & Giuseppe Ferrero, 2017. "Monetary policy in a low interest rate environment," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 392, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    5. Schesch, Constantin, 2024. "Pseudospectral methods for continuous-time heterogeneous-agent models," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    optimal monetary policy; incomplete markets; Gâteaux derivative; nominal debt; inflation; redistributive effects; continuous time;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E5 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit
    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • F34 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - International Lending and Debt Problems

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