This paper studies optimal macroeconomic policy when nonlinearity in the business cycle is described by a vector smooth transition autoregression (VSTAR). A structural identification of the VSTAR that yields a low-dimension and certainty-equivalent nonlinear quadratic regulator (NLQR) problem is...

This paper explores the implications of time varying volatility for optimal monetary policy and the measurement of welfare costs. We show how macro-economic models with linear and quadratic state dependence in their variance structure can be used for the analysis of optimal policy within the...