The analysis of this paper demonstrates that when the Phillips curve has forward-looking components, a goal for average inflation - i.e. targeting a j-period average of one-period inflation rates - will cause inflation expectations to change in a way that improves the short-run trade-off faced...

An inflation targeting central bank aims to stabilize the rate of inflation. But which 'inflation' should this be? Quarterly, annual, biennial? We analyze the effects on optimal monetary policy of increasing the period over which the inflation rate is defined. When inflation stabilization is the...