The subject of this dissertation is nominal GDP (NGDP) targeting. In the wake of the Great Recession, some economists have proposed using some form of NGDP target to replace current monetary policy. We evaluate the desirability of NGDP targets based upon their ability to deliver unique and \learnable" equilibria and their welfare gains in the presence of nancial frictions. In the second chapter, we assess the determinacy and E-stability conditions for simple interest rate rules which respond to NGDP's deviation from target in a simple three-equation New Keynesian model. The rules under consideration target either NGDP level or growth, and can either be contemporaneous, one period ahead, or two periods ahead. We also allow for dierent types of information sets for the agents. In the third chapter, we compare welfare loss in consumption equivalent terms for NGDP targets with more conventional monetary policy in a New Keynesian model which features nancial frictions. Finally, in the fourth chapter we continue our analysis from chapter one but now allow for strictly positive trend inflation. We present findings for the relationship between trend inflation and the determinacy and E-stability of the equilibrium when using interest rate rules that target NGPD.

We estimate a multivariate unobserved components stochastic volatility model to explain the dynamics of a panel of six exchange rates against the US Dollar. The empirical model is based on the assumption that both countries' monetary policy strategies may be well described by Taylor rules with a time-varying inflation target, a time-varying natural rate of unemployment, and interest rate smoothing. The estimates closely track major movements along with important time series properties of real and nominal exchange rates across all currencies considered. The model generally outperforms a benchmark model that does not account for changes in trend inflation and trend unemployment. (authors' abstract) / Series: Department of Economics Working Paper Series

[pt] O objetivo da dissertação é apresentar uma nova medida de núcleo de inflação para o Brasil com o intuito de verificar a tendência atual dos preços. Inicialmente são propostos dois núcleos. O primeiro é calculado a partir de métodos tradicionais encontrados na literatura, porém visando a alcançar algumas características desejáveis que um núcleo tenha, algumas alterações são propostas. O segundo método é via Dynamic Conditional Score Models (DCS). Nesse, a inflação é decomposta em componentes não observáveis e o núcleo é definido como a componente de tendência. Fazse uma comparação entre os núcleos propostos e os núcleos divulgados atualmente no Brasil e conclui-se que os núcleos divulgados hoje não contribuem para o entendimento da tendência da inflação e que para isso os dois núcleos propostos são mais indicados. O núcleo via modelo DCS é mais indicado ainda por sua estimação não ser afetada por muita informação defasada como ocorre para o primeiro núcleo. Além disso, algumas análises econômicas sugerem que a utilização do núcleo via modelo DCS pode auxiliar o Banco Central na condução da política monetária, uma vez que este mostra indicativos do desenvolvimento futuro da inflação acumulada no ano (medida alvo para a verificação do controle da meta). As duas metodologias propostas podem ser facilmente recalculadas, uma vez que os códigos de implementação estão disponíveis gratuitamente para qualquer usuário interessado, e também podem ser replicadas para outros índices de inflação. / [en] The objective of this dissertation is to present a new measure of core inflation to brazilian inflation in order to verify the current trend of prices. Initially two core inflation are proposed. The first one is calculated from traditional methods found in the literature with some changes proposed in order to achieve some desirable core inflation characteristics. The second method of estimation is Dynamic Conditional Score Models (DCS), where inflation is decomposed into unobservables components and the core is defined as the trend component. A comparison is made between the proposed cores measures and that ones currently available in Brazil. The conclusion is that the core inflation disclosed today do not contribute to the understanding of the inflation trend. The two proposed core inflation measures are better suited for this purpose. The core by DCS model is further indicated because its estimation is not affected by lagged information as it happens for the first core measure. In addition, some economic analyzes suggest that the use of the core by DCS model can help the Central Bank in the conduct of monetary policy, since this shows indicative of the future development of the accumulated inflation in the year (measure used to verify the inflation target in Brazil). The two proposed methodologies can easily be recalculated, since implementation codes are freely available to any interested user, and it can also be replicated to other inflation indicators.

In dieser Arbeit werden die Folgen der Calvo-Annahme in dynamischen makroökonomischen Modellen untersucht. Dafür wird die Calvo-Annahme unter Anwendung des Konzepts der statistischen Hazardfunktion verallgemeinert. Ich untersuche zwei mögliche Anwendungen dieses Ansatzes innerhalb von DSGE-Modellen. Im ersten Artikel zeige ich, dass der Zugewinn an Handhabbarkeit, der aus der Calvo-Annahme für Neu-Keynesianische Modelle folgt, mit unerwünschten Folgen in Bezug auf die Inflationsdynamiken einher geht. Der zweite Artikel schätzt die aggregierte Hazardfunktion unter Verwendung des theoretischen Rahmens des ersten Artikels. Es zeigt sich, dass die Annahme einer konstanten Hazardfunktion, die aus der Calvo-Annahme folgt, von den Daten eindeutig abgelehnt wird. Im dritten Artikel analysiere ich die Implikationen der empirisch geschätzten Hazardfunktion für die Persistenz von Inflation und die Geldpolitik. Die Untersuchungen zeigen, dass mittels der empirisch plausiblen aggregierten Hazardfunktion Zeitreihen simuliert werden können, die mit der Persistenz der inflatorischen Lücke im US Verbraucherpreisindex konsistent sind. Anhand dieser Ergebnisse komme ich zu dem Schluss, dass die Hazardfunktion eine entscheidende Rolle für die dynamischen Eigenschaften von Inflation spielt. Der letzte Artikel wendet den selben Modellierungsansatz auf ein Real-Business-Cycle Model mit rigidem Arbeitsmarkt an. Unter Verwendung eines allgemeineren stochastischen Anpassungsprozess stelle ich fest, dass die Arbeitsmarktdynamiken von einem Parameter beinflusst werden, der das Monotonieverhalten der Hazardfunktion bestimmt. Insbesondere steigt die Volatilität des Beschäftigungsniveaus, wohingegen dessen Persistenz mit zunehmendem Parameterwert abnimmt. / The Calvo assumption (Calvo, 1983) is widely used in the macroeconomic literature to model market frictions that limit the ability of economic agents to re-optimize their control variables. In spite of its virtues, the Calvo assumption also implies singular adjustment behavior at the firm level as well as a restrictive aggregation mechanism for the whole economy. In this study, I examine implications of the Calvo assumption for macroeconomic dynamics. To do so, I extend the Calvo assumption to a more general case based on the concept of the statistical hazard function. Two applications of this approach are studied in the DSGE framework. In the first essay, I apply this approach to a New Keynesian model, and demonstrate that tractability gained from the Calvo pricing assumption is costly in terms of inflation dynamics. The second essay estimates aggregate price reset hazard function using the theoretical framework constructed in the first essay, and shows that the constant hazard function implied by the Calvo assumption is strongly rejected by the aggregate data. In the third essay, I further explore implications of the empirically based hazard function for inflation persistence and monetary policy. I find that the empirically plausible aggregate price reset hazard function can generate simulated data that are consistent with inflation gap persistence found in the US CPI data. Based on these results, I conclude that the price reset hazard function plays a crucial role for generating inflation dynamics. The last essay applies the same modeling approach to a RBC model with employment rigidity. I find that, when introducing a more general stochastic adjustment process, the employment dynamics vary with a parameter, which determines the monotonic property of the hazard function. In particular, the volatility of employment is increasing, but the persistence is decreasing in the value of the parameter.