Economic efficiency implies an equating, at the margin, of benefits and costs. In this paper we explore a concept of "efficiency" which is broader than the usual framework and which applies to commodities and services produced and distrib- uted largely outside the private, profit maximiz- ing...

Accounting for the uncertainty inherent in real-time perceptions of the state of the economy is believed to be critical for the analysis of historical monetary policy. We investigate this claim through the lens of a small-scale new-Keynesian model with optimal discretionary policy and partial...