The Consequences of Falling Behind the Curve: Inflation Shocks and Policy Delays Under Rational and Behavioral Expectations

Central banks in major industrialized economies were slow to react to the surge in inflation that began in early 2021. The proximate causes of this surge were the supply chain disruptions associated with the easing of COVID restrictions, fiscal policies designed to cushion the economic impact of COV...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Hakamada, Mai
Other Authors: Walsh, Carl
Format: eBook
Language:English
Published: Washington, D.C. International Monetary Fund 2024
Series:IMF Working Papers
Subjects:
Online Access:
Collection: International Monetary Fund - Collection details see MPG.ReNa
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245 0 0 |a The Consequences of Falling Behind the Curve: Inflation Shocks and Policy Delays Under Rational and Behavioral Expectations  |c Mai Hakamada, Carl Walsh 
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300 |a 52 pages 
653 |a Interest rates 
653 |a Credit 
653 |a Rational expectations 
653 |a Finance 
653 |a Financial services 
653 |a Deflation 
653 |a Expectations 
653 |a Production 
653 |a Production; Economic theory 
653 |a Economics of specific sectors 
653 |a Macroeconomics: Production 
653 |a Currency crises 
653 |a Policy Objectives 
653 |a Policy Coordination 
653 |a Rational expectations; Economic theory 
653 |a Macroeconomics 
653 |a Banking 
653 |a Economic theory 
653 |a Money Multipliers 
653 |a Speculations 
653 |a Economic & financial crises & disasters 
653 |a Inflation 
653 |a Economic Theory 
653 |a Output gap 
653 |a Policy Designs and Consistency 
653 |a Real interest rates 
653 |a Economics: General 
653 |a Informal sector; Economics 
653 |a Economic theory & philosophy 
653 |a Price Level 
653 |a Banks and Banking 
653 |a Money Supply 
653 |a Prices 
653 |a Central Banks and Their Policies 
653 |a Interest Rates: Determination, Term Structure, and Effects 
653 |a Monetary Policy 
653 |a Production and Operations Management 
653 |a Central bank policy rate 
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520 |a Central banks in major industrialized economies were slow to react to the surge in inflation that began in early 2021. The proximate causes of this surge were the supply chain disruptions associated with the easing of COVID restrictions, fiscal policies designed to cushion the economic impact of COVID, and the impact on commodity prices and supply chains of the war in Ukraine. We investigate the consequences of policy delay in responding to inflation shocks. First, using a simple three-period model, we show how policy delay worsens inflation outcomes, but can mitigate or even reverse the output decline that occurs when policy responds without delay. Then, using a calibrated new Keynesian framework and two measures of loss that incorporate a “balanced approach” to weigh inflation and the output gap, we find that loss is monotonically increasing in the length of the delay. Loss is reduced if policy, when it does react, is more aggressive. To investigate whether these results are sensitive to the assumption of rational expectations, we consider cognitive discounting as an alternative assumption about expectations. With cognitive discounting, forward guidance is less powerful and results in a reduction in the costs of delay. Under either assumption about expectations, the costs of a short delay can be eliminated by adopting a less inertial policy rule and a more aggressive response to inflation