The ongoing sovereign debt crisis and the manifold attempts to resolve it imply the possibility that inflation rates in countries of the euro area will differ from one another for an extended period of time. For instance, some propose that the North should accept inflation rates above the...

Empirical data suggest that new firms tend to grow faster than incumbent firms in terms of their productivity. A sticky-price model with learning-by-doing in new firms fits this data and predicts that for plausible calibrations, the optimal long-run inflation rate is positive and between 0.5%...

We present a sticky-price model incorporating heterogeneous firms and systematic firm-level productivity trends. Aggregating the model in closed form, we show that it delivers radically different predictions for the optimal inflation rate than canonical sticky price models featuring homogenous...

Sticky price models featuring heterogeneous firms and systematic firm-level productivity trends deliver radically different predictions for the optimal inflation rate than their popular homogenous-firm counterparts: (1) the optimal steady-state inflation rate generically differs from zero and...

Sticky price models featuring heterogeneous firms and systematic firm-level productivity trends deliver radically different predictions for the optimal inflation rate than their popular homogenous-firm counterparts: (i) the optimal steady-state inflation rate generically differs from zero and...

Many central banks worldwide announce numerical inflation targets, typically ranging from zero to two percent in advanced economies and higher in developing countries. Historically, a significant gap existed between the inflation targets pursued by central banks and those recommended by academic...

Using micro price data underlying the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices in France, Germany and Italy, we estimate relative price trends over the product life cycle and show that minimizing price and mark-up distortions in the presence of these trends requires targeting a significantly positive...

Using micro price data underlying the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices in France, Germany and Italy, we estimate relative price trends over the product life cycle and show that minimizing price and mark-up distortions in the presence of these trends requires targeting a significantly positive...

Empirical data indicate that firms tend to have below-average productivity upon entry and that they tend to experience post-entry productivity growth. I present a New Keynesian model with growth in firm-specific productivity and firm turnover that captures these two phenomena. The model predicts...