The Conquest of American Inflation

Author: Sargent Thomas  

Publisher: Princeton University Press‎

Publication year: 2018

E-ISBN: 9780691186689

P-ISBN(Paperback): 9780691090122

Subject: D81 international relations

Keyword: 经济学

Language: ENG

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Description

In the past fifteen years, inflation has been conquered by many advanced countries. History reveals, however, that it has been conquered before and returned. In The Conquest of American Inflation, Thomas J. Sargent presents a groundbreaking analysis of the rise and fall of U.S. inflation after 1960. He examines two broad explanations for the behavior of inflation and unemployment in this period: the natural-rate hypothesis joined to the Lucas critique and a more traditional econometric policy evaluation modified to include adaptive expectations and learning. His purpose is not only to determine which is the better account, but also to codify for the benefit of the next generation the economic forces that cause inflation.


Sargent begins with an explanation of how American policymakers increased inflation in the early 1960s by following erroneous assumptions about the exploitability of the Phillips curve--the inverse relationship between inflation and unemployment. In subsequent chapters, he connects a sequence of ideas--self-confirming equilibria, least-squares and other adaptive or recursive learning algorithms, convergence of least-squares learners with self-confirming equilibria, and recurrent dynamics along escape routes from self-confirming equilibria. Sargent synthesizes results from macroeconomics, game theory, control theory, and other fields to extend both adaptive expectations and rational expectations theory, and he compellingly describes postw

Chapter

Adaptive expectations

Empirical vindication

Raw and filtered Data

Demographic adjustment and drift

2. IGNORING THE LUCAS CRITIQUE

The Lucas critique

Outline

The appeal to drifting coefficients

A loose end

Parameter drift as point of departure

Relevance of the critique

Rational expectations models

3. THE CREDIBILITY PROBLEM

Introduction

One-period economy

Least squares learning converges to Nash

More foresight

Appendix on stochastic approximation

4. CREDIBLE GOVERNMENT POLICIES

Perfection

Historical antecedents

The method of Abreu-Pearce-Stacchetti

Examples of recursive SPE

Infinite repetition of Nash outcome

Infinite repetition of a better-than-Nash outcome

Something worse: a stick and carrot strategy

The worst SPE

Multiplicity

Attaining the worst, method 1.

Attaining the worst, method 2.

Attaining the worst, method 3.

Numerical examples

Interpretations

Remedies

5. ADAPTIVE EXPECTATIONS (1950's)

Adaptive expectations

The original Phelps problem

Phelps problem: general version

Testing the natural-rate hypothesis

Disappearance of beliefs as state variable

Subversion of Phelps's model

6. OPTIMAL MISSPECIFIED BELIEFS

Equilibrium with mistakes

An experiment in Bray's lab

Misspecification

Lessons

7. SELF-CONFIRMING EQUILIBRIA

Two literatures

Directions of fit

Imperfect (1970's) rational expectations equilibria

Self-confirming equilibria

Objects in Phelps problem

Elements of self-confirming models

The actual Phillips curve

Self-confirmation

Direction of minimization

Vanishing parameters

Self-confirmation under classical direction

Moment formulas

Keynesian direction of fit

Government beliefs and behavior

Calculation of S

Special case by hand

Why not Ramsey?

Direction of minimization: caution

Equilibrium computation

Messages

Equilibrium with misspecified beliefs

An erroneous forecasting function

Approaching Ramsey

Grounds for optimism

8. ADAPTIVE EXPECTATIONS (1990's)

Least squares adaptation

Primer on recursive algorithms

Iteration

Stochastic approximations

Mean dynamics

Constant gain

Escape routes

Simplification of action functional

From computation to adaptation

Adaptation with the classical identification

The government's beliefs and behavior

RLS and the Kalman filter

Private sector beliefs

System evolution

Mean dynamics

Stochastic approximation

Adaptation with Keynesian identification

Government beliefs and behavior

Technical details

Simulations

Classical adaptive simulations

Relation to equilibria under forecast misspecification

Simulation with Keynesian adaptation

Role of discount factor

Conclusions

Appendix A: RLS and the Kalman filter

The Kalman filter

Recursive least squares

Matching RLS to the Kalman filter

Initial conditions for simulations

Appendix B: Anticipated utility

Boiler plate recursive rational expectations model

Anticipated utility model

9. ECONOMETRIC POLICY EVALUATION

Introduction

Likelihood function

Estimates

Interpretation

Appendix on likelihood function

10. TRIUMPH OR VINDICATION?

Expectations and the Lucas critique

Reservations

GLOSSARY

REFERENCES

AUTHOR INDEX

SUBJECT INDEX

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