Source Of Nominal Rigidity Research Articles

Fiscal multipliers: A heterogenous‐agent perspective

We use an analytically tractable heterogeneous‐agent (HANK) version of the standard New Keynesian model to show how the size of fiscal multipliers depends on (i) the distribution of factor incomes, and (ii) the source of nominal rigidities. With sticky prices but flexible wages, the standard representative‐agent (RANK) model predicts large multipliers because profits fall after a fiscal stimulus and the resulting negative income effect makes the representative worker work harder. Our HANK model, where workers do not own stock, and thus do not receive profit income, predicts smaller fiscal multipliers. In fact, they are smaller with sticky prices than with flexible prices. When wages are the source of nominal rigidity, in contrast, fiscal multipliers are close to one, independently of income heterogeneity and price stickiness.

Fiscal Multipliers: A Heterogenous-Agent Perspective

We use an analytically tractable heterogeneous-agent (HANK) version of the standard New Keynesian model to show how the size of fiscal multipliers depends on i) the distribution of factor incomes, and ii) the source of nominal rigidities. With sticky prices but flexible wages, the standard representative-agent (RANK) model predicts large multipliers because profits fall after a fiscal stimulus and the resulting negative income effect makes the representative worker work harder. Our HANK model, where workers do not own stock and thus do not receive profit income, predicts smaller fiscal multipliers. In fact, they are smaller with sticky prices than with flexible prices. When wages are the source of nominal rigidity, in contrast, fiscal multipliers are close to one, independently of income heterogeneity and price stickiness.

Productivity growth and volatility: how important are wage and price rigidities?

We study the implications of having different sources of nominal rigidities on the relationship between productivity growth and shocks volatility in a model with procyclical R&D and imperfect competition in goods and labour markets. We show that the effects of uncertainty on long-term growth not only depends on the source of fluctuations, as recent literature shows, but also, and crucially, on whether prices and/or wages are rigid.

Productivity Growth and Volatility: How Important are Wage and Price Rigidities?

We study the implications of having different sources of nominal rigidities on the relationship between productivity growth and shocks volatility in a model with procyclical R&D and imperfect competition in goods and labor markets. We show that the effects of uncertainty on long-term growth not only depends on the source of fluctuations, as recent literature shows, but also, and crucially, on whether prices and/or wages are rigid.

The Non-equivalence Revisited: Staggered Price and Wage Contracts

Staggered wage-setting and price-setting have frequently been used to construct business cycle models that can replicate long-lasting real effects of monetary shocks. We examine how the two seemingly equivalent sources of nominal rigidities compare in generating persistence in real output following monetary expansion. We show that staggered wage-setting is in general better able to generate persistence, because it can lower the procyclicality of marginal cost considerably more than staggered price-setting does.

Monetary policy in open economies

The recent literature on monetary policy in open economies has produced a strong presumption in favor of activistic policy and flexible exchange rates. We argue that this result may owe much to the combination of two commonly made assumptions: That nominal goods prices are rigid. And that the monetary authorities have a lot of information about the economy. When the source of nominal rigidity is found in wages and monetary policy is conducted according to less information demanding rules (such as a standard interest rate rule) policies that stabilize the money supply or the nominal exchange rate may perform better.