In this paper, we propose a tractable variant of the open economy neoclassical growth model that emphasizes political economy and contracting frictions. The political economy frictions involve disagreement and political turnover, while the contracting friction is a lack of commitment regarding...

last 30 years has been mirrored by consumption inequality. We do so by constructing two alternative measures of consumption expenditure, using data from the Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE). We first use reports of active savings and after tax income to construct the measure of consumption...

Are quantitatively important real rigidities present in the data? The answer appears to depend on what data one looks at. Recent studies using price data underlying US CPI index provide evidence suggesting a limited role for real rigidities. Evidence from international prices, however, points...

Adjustment primarily occurred through existing importers and exporters changing their product mix. This implies that the macroeconomic impact of such rapid external adjustment does not come from the two channels most focused on in the literature: it does not result from the reallocation of...