Should The Fed Smooth Interest Rates? The Case of Seasonal Monetary Policy / N. Gregory Mankiw, Jeffrey A. Miron.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mankiw, N. Gregory.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Miron, Jeffrey A.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w3388.

NBER working paper series no. w3388

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 1990.

Summary:

This paper examines the choice of monetary policy in response to seasonal fluctuations in the economy. It discusses the costs and benefits of smoothing interest rates over the seasons, which has been the Fed's policy since its founding in 1914, and presents simulations suggesting how the economy would behave under the alternative policy of stabilizing the money stock. Finally, it presents evidence that the smoothing of interest rates in 1914 changed the seasonal business cycle.

Notes:

Print version record

June 1990.