Under a conventional policy rule, a central bank adjusts its policy rate linearly according to the gap between inflation and its target, and the gap between output and its potential. Under the opportunistic approach to disinflation a central bank controls inflation aggressively when inflation is...

A number of observers have advocated recently that the Federal Reserve take an "opportunistic" approach to the conduct of monetary policy. A hallmark of this approach is that the central bank focuses on fighting inflation when inflation is high but focuses on stabilizing output when inflation is...

This paper explores issues that arise in implementing monetary policy under conditions of sustained price stability. We discuss several issues that concern the selection of a central bank's inflation objective: price measurement questions must be recognized in articulating the goals of monetary...