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Activist Monetary Policy under Rational Expectations

Peter Howitt

Journal of Political Economy 1981

The purpose of this paper is to argue that the pursuit of an activist monetary policy may make economic sense even when people's expectations are formed rationally. The paper presents a simple model in which (1) prices are costly to adjust, (2) there is uncertainty concerning the parameters affecting aggregate demand, and (3) there are positive costs of gathering and processing information. By reference to this model it can be shown that an activist monetary policy may or may not be useful in offsetting aggregate disturbances, depending upon the extent of information costs and of parameter uncertainty.

DOI
10.1086/260964
Volume
89 (2)
Pages
249-269
Language
en
Export
BibTeX
Sources
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