Explain the time-inconsistency problem. What is the likely outcome of discretionary policy? What are the solutions to the time-inconsistency problem?
What will be an ideal response?
With policy discretion, policymakers have an incentive to attempt to increase output by pursuing expansionary policies once expectations are set. The problem is that this policy results not in higher output, but in higher actual and expected inflation. The solution is to adopt a rule to constrain discretion. Nominal anchors can provide the necessary constraint on discretionary behavior.
You might also like to view...
It would have been very difficult to clean up Lake Erie some years ago without government participation primarily because
A) environmental improvements benefit everyone and should therefore be financed from taxes. B) the lake is a navigable body of water. C) the lake is officially public property. D) the pursuit of profit will cause environmental deterioration. E) too many people could benefit without helping to pay the cost of the cleanup.
Research by Reinhart and Rogoff indicate that most of the increase in national debt as a result of a financial crisis is due to
A) government bail outs of financial institutions. B) increase spending on social welfare programs. C) government stimulus programs. D) sharp declines in tax revenues.