We construct an optimizing-agent model of a closed economy which is simple enough that we can use it to make exact utility calculations. There is a stabilization problem because there are one-period nominal contracts for wages, or prices, or both and shocks that are unknown at the time when...

I study optimal monetary policy in a simple New Keynesian model with portfolio adjustment costs. Purchases of long-term debt by the central bank (quantitative easing; ‘QE') alter the average portfolio return and hence influence aggregate demand and inflation. The central bank chooses the...

Monetary policy reaction functions are compared in a simple optimizing model with one-period nominal stickiness, i.i.d. shocks, and no capital accumulation. The interest rate is the instrument and is either kept constant, "interest rate targeting" for short, or used in targeting one of the...

This paper proposes a solution method to solve linear difference models with lagged expectations. Variables with lagged expectations expand the model's state space greatly when N is large; and getting the system into a canonical form solvable by the traditional methods involves substantial manual...

Cross-sector labor reallocation is associated with costs at the micro level ranging from the costs of geographical relocation and skill change/adaptation to unemployment. We show that monotonous reallocation paths minimize the aggregate reallocation costs in the three-sector framework (relating...