A Simple Explanation of the Taylor Rule

Piergallini, Alessandro and Rodano, Giorgio (2016): A Simple Explanation of the Taylor Rule.

Abstract

The modern New Keynesian literature discusses the stabilizing properties of Taylor-type interest rate rules mainly in the context of complex optimizing models. In this paper we present a simple alternative approach to provide a theoretical rationale for the adoption of the Taylor rule by central banks. We find that the Taylor rule can be derived as the optimal interest rate rule in a classical Barro-Gordon macroeconomic model. The successful practice of central bankers, at the core of the Great Moderation, and currently re-invoked to re-normalize monetary policy after the unprecedented quantitative-easing actions aimed to escape the Great Recession, can perfectly be explained by standard theory, without recourse to more complicated derivations.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: The Taylor rule; Optimal Monetary Policy; The Taylor Principle.
• Subjects: E - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics > E5 - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit > E52 - Monetary Policy; E - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics > E5 - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit > E58 - Central Banks and Their Policies

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