Issues in the Design of Monetary Policy Rules

Abstract

Topics covered in this survey paper include the following: distinguishing rules from discretion in practice; the feasibility of rule-like behavior by an independent central bank; optimal control vs. robustness as research strategies; choice among target variables; growth-rate vs. growing-level target paths; feasibility of interest rate and monetary base instruments; nominal indeterminacy as distinct from solution multiplicity; root-mean-square performance measures with interest rate and monetary base instruments; operationality of rule specifications; stochastic vs. counterfactual historical simulation procedures; interactions between monetary and fiscal policies; and the fiscal theory of the price level.