Asset Prices, Monetary Policy and Determinacy

We study whether central banks should respond to asset prices in their policy rules. Using a modified version of Bernanke, Gertler and Gilchrist's (1999) model—a standard dynamic stochastic general equilibrium New Keynesian model with a financial accelerator effect—we explore how equilibrium determinacy is impacted when the central bank reacts to asset prices. Our results indicate that by reacting to asset price movements in its Taylor-type nominal interest rate feedback rule, a central bank makes determinacy of the rational expectations equilibrium more likely relative to a standard policy rule where the central bank does not react to asset prices.