Implications of Habit Formation for Optimal Monetary Policy
43 Pages Posted: 13 Dec 2005
Date Written: December 2001
Abstract
We study the implications for optimal monetary policy of introducing habit formation in consumption into a general equilibrium model with sticky prices. Habit formation affects the model's endogenous dynamics through its effects on both aggregate demand and households' supply of output. We show that the objective of monetary policy consistent with welfare maximization includes output stabilization, as well as inflation and output gap stabilization. We find that the variance of output increases under optimal policy, even though it acquires a higher implicit weight in the welfare function. We also find that a simple interest rate rule nearly achieves the welfare-optimal allocation, regardless of the degree of habit formation. In this rule, the optimal responses to inflation and the lagged interest rate are both declining in the size of the habit, although super-inertial policies remain optimal.
Keywords: Habit formation, interest rate rules
JEL Classification: E31, E32, E52
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?
Recommended Papers
-
Monetary Policy Rules and Macroeconomic Stability: Evidence and Some Theory
By Richard Clarida, Jordi Galí, ...
-
The Science of Monetary Policy: A New Keynesian Perspective
By Richard Clarida, Jordi Galí, ...
-
The Science of Monetary Policy: a New Keynesian Perspective
By Richard Clarida, Jordi Galí, ...
-
An Optimization-Based Econometric Framework for the Evaluation of Monetary Policy: Expanded Version
-
Monetary Policy Rules in Practice: Some International Evidence
By Richard Clarida, Jordi Galí, ...
-
Inflation Forecast Targeting: Implementing and Monitoring Inflation Targets