Prices of goods and services do not adjust immediately in response to changing demand and supply conditions. This paper characterizes the average frequency and size of price changes in the euro area and its member countries, investigates the determinants of the probability of price changes, and...

This paper studies the local dynamic properties of a simple general equilibrium model with Social vat. Strict balanced budget rules often lead to real indeterminacy of aggregate equilibrium, leaving room for « sunspots » fluctuations. In a closed-economy setup, social vat escapes this...

[eng] Estimation of the Implicit Inflation Target in the Euro Area. . Euro area countries as a whole have experienced a marked downward trend over the 1980s. Over this period, the unemployment rate has increased and economic activity has been sluggish. Changes in the implicit inflation target,...

[eng] The authors use two general-equilibrium models to assess the quantitative and dynamic impact of “ social VAT”, i.e., a tax reform that would substitute a value-added tax for employers’ social contributions. The first model is a Walrasian model with no frictions other than...

[fre] L’objet de cet article est double. D’une part, il présente le modèle d’équilibre général de la Nouvelle synthèse qui est devenu en peu de temps une véritable référence pour l’analyse macroéconomique (simulations de politiques économiques, prévisions d’inflation,...

This note estimates several constrained versions of an optimization-based multi-country model to test the sources of heterogeneity within the euro area. We show that the main source is the asymmetry of shocks affecting the economies and that the heterogeneity of behaviors does not seem to be of...

This paper assesses the time series properties of rational expectations models with news shocks. We show that news shocks allows to substantially improve the dynamic behavior of such models in generating higher persistence. We also warn the use of SVAR models to uncover news shocks.