Macroeconomic Policy Inflation, Wealth and the Exchange Rate

This analysis of macroeconomic policy, originally published in 1989, argues that key government objectives, such as reduced inflation, decreased unemployment and an adequate level of national saving can be achieved only by employing both monetary and fiscal policies, in conjunction with supply-side policies expressly designed to improve the workings of the labour market. Part 1 is a comparative analysis showing the effects of monetary and fiscal policy on the economy. Real-wage rigidity in the labour market is shown to have important consequences for the working of both types of policy, because it conditions the economy’s response to tax changes. Part 2 presents an econometric model which combines consistent stock-flow accounts with a full range of expectational effects. Part 3 presents an innovative technique for solving rational expectations models with the need for arbitary terminal conditions.

Part 1: Theory 1. A New Keynesian Framework For Macroeconomic Policy 2. The Linkages Between Financial Weapons and Financial Targets: A Comparative Static Analysis 3. The Dynamics of Price Stabilization 4. Wealth Targets, Stock Instability and Macroeconomic Policy Part 2: Application 5. A Stock-Flow Model with Model-Consistent or Adaptive Expectations 6. Macroeconomic Policy Rule for Economic Stabilization 7. Counterfactual Simulation With Forward-Looking Expectations 8. A Simulation of the Cost-Push Economy 9. The Controlled Economy with Reformed Wages Part 3: Method 10. The Drivation and Use of a Linear Model 11. The Design of Economic Policy Rules Part 4: Conclusion 12. Summary of Results and Conclusions