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The Inflation-Unemployment Trade-Off at Low Inflation

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  • Pierpaolo Benigno
  • Luca Antonio Ricci

Abstract

Wage setters take into account the future consequences of their current wage choices in the presence of downward nominal wage rigidities. Several interesting implications arise. First, a closed-form solution for a long-run Phillips curve relates average unemployment to average wage inflation; the curve is virtually vertical for high inflation rates but becomes flatter as inflation declines. Second, macroeconomic volatility shifts the Phillips curve outward, implying that stabilization policies can play an important role in shaping the trade-off. Third, nominal wages tend to be endogenously rigid also upward, at low inflation. Fourth, when inflation decreases, volatility of unemployment increases whereas the volatility of inflation decreases: this implies a long-run trade-off also between the volatility of unemployment and that of wage inflation.

Suggested Citation

  • Pierpaolo Benigno & Luca Antonio Ricci, 2008. "The Inflation-Unemployment Trade-Off at Low Inflation," NBER Working Papers 13986, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:13986
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    Cited by:

    1. Etienne Farvaque & Alexander Mihailov, 2008. "Intergenerational Transmission of Inflation Aversion: Theory and Evidence," Economics Discussion Papers em-dp2008-71, Department of Economics, University of Reading.
    2. Juan David Prada Sarmiento & Luis Eduardo Rojas Dueñas, 2009. "La elasticidad de Frisch y la transmisión de la política monetaria en Colombia," Borradores de Economia 555, Banco de la Republica de Colombia.
    3. Kim, Jinill & Ruge-Murcia, Francisco J., 2011. "Monetary policy when wages are downwardly rigid: Friedman meets Tobin," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 35(12), pages 2064-2077.
    4. Di Bartolomeo, Giovanni & Tirelli, Patrizio & Acocella, Nicola, 2014. "Trend inflation, the labor market wedge, and the non-vertical Phillips curve," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 36(6), pages 1022-1035.
    5. Kim, Jinill & Ruge-Murcia, Francisco J., 2009. "How much inflation is necessary to grease the wheels?," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(3), pages 365-377, April.
    6. Di Bartolomeo, Giovanni & Tirelli, Patrizio & Acocella, Nicola, 2012. "Inflation targets and endogenous wage markups in a New Keynesian model," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 391-403.
    7. Pierpaolo Benigno & Luca Antonio Ricci, 2011. "The Inflation-Output Trade-Off with Downward Wage Rigidities," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(4), pages 1436-1466, June.
    8. Di Bartolomeo Giovanni & Tirelli Patrizio & Acocella Nicola, 2010. "Trend inflation, endogenous mark-ups and the non-vertical Phillips curve," wp.comunite 0065, Department of Communication, University of Teramo.
    9. Fagan, Gabriel & Messina, Julián, 2009. "Downward wage rigidity and optimal steady-state inflation," Working Paper Series 1048, European Central Bank.

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    JEL classification:

    • E0 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • E30 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - General (includes Measurement and Data)

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