Optimal State-Contingent Unemployment Insurance

Since the probability of finding a job is affected not only by individual effort but also by the aggregate state of the economy, designing unemployment insurance payments conditional on the business cycle could be valuable. This paper answers a fundamental question related to this issue: How should the payments vary with the aggregate state of the economy?Unemployment Insurance; Aggregate Fluctuations; Recursive Contracts and Moral Hazard

Optimizing Production under Uncertainty: Generalisation of the State-Contingent Approach and Comparison of Methods for Empirical Application

In a recent paper Rasmussen (Rasmussen 2003) derived criteria for optimal production under uncertainty based on the state-contingent approach developed by Chambers and Quiggin (2000). While the criteria in the 2003-paper were derived for the one variable input case, and for different types of input, the present paper generalises the results to the multi-variable input case. It is further shown that with the output-cubical technology as the basic model, any type of input may be analysed as a special case within the general model framework developed. The main part of the paper is devoted to the problems of empirical application of the State-contingent approach. To empirically apply the optimization criteria derived, one needs specific functional forms of both the state-contingent production functions and the utility function based on state-contingent income measures. The paper shortly reviews the empirical approach normally taken when using the well-known Expected Utility (EU) model and this approach is in turn compared to the more general approach potentially available in the state-contingent model. Comparisons show that the potential benefit of the state-contingent approach compared to the expected utility model is limited by the empirical opportunities. Thus, it is unrealistic to expect production functions to be estimated for all possible states of nature. State-contingent production functions therefore, have to be considered as stochastic production functions. In this case, it is not obvious whether the state-contingent approach is better than the expected utility model, and it is proposed that this is further investigated using Monte-Carlo simulation.Production Economics, Risk and Uncertainty,

The state-contingent approach to production under uncertainty

The central claim of this paper is that the state-contingent approach provides the best way to think about all problems in the economics of uncertainty, including problems of consumer choice, the theory of the firm, and principal–agent relationships. This claim is illustrated by recent developments in, and applications of, the state-contingent approach.risk, state-contingent production, uncertainty, Risk and Uncertainty,

Monetary policy with state contingent interest rates

What instruments of monetary policy must be used in order to implement a unique equilibrium? This paper revisits the issues addressed by Sargent and Wallace (1975) on the multiplicity of equilibria when policy is conducted with interest rate rules. We show that the appropriate interest rate instruments under uncertainty are state- contingent interest rates, i.e. the nominal returns on state-contingent nominal assets. A policy that pegs state-contingent nominal interest rates, and sets the initial money supply, implements a unique equilibrium. These results hold whether prices are flexible or set in advance.Monetary policy ; Interest rates

Monetary Policy with State Contingent Interest Rates

What instruments of monetary policy must be used in order to implement a unique equilibrium? This paper revisits the issues addressed by Sargent and Wallace (1975) on the multiplicity of equilibria when policy isconducted with interest rate rules. We show that the appropriate interestrate instruments under uncertainty are state-contingent interest rates, i.e. the nominal returns on state-contingent nominal assets. A policy that pegs state-contingent nominal interest rates, and sets the initial money supply, implements a unique equilibrium. These results hold whether prices are flexible or set in advance.

Optimal simple targeting rules for small open economies

This paper solves for optimal policy rules in a stylized small open economy model under a spectrum of targeting regimes. These policy reaction functions are presented as feedback rules highlighting the dominant state variables in each rule. Optimal simple rules - rules that exploit a reduced information set - are explored to assess how much is lost when information is excluded from the optimal state-contingent rule. For the model analyzed we find that some optimal simple rules can approximate reasonably well the optimal state-contingent rule, these simple rules contain the real exchange rate. Knowing which variables underpin the performance of the optimal state-contingent rule is important for developing simple, robust, rules with good stabilizing properties.Econometric models ; Foreign exchange rates ; Inflation (Finance) ; Taylor's rule

Fiscal consolidation : Dr Pangloss meets Mr Keynes

A simple dynamic framework is used to show how consolidation plans that are robust and effective at capacity output can be undermined by demand failure. If the market panics and interest rates rise, the process can indeed become dynamically unstable. Tightening fiscal policy to reassure financial markets can lead to a low level “consolidation trap”, however. Better that the Central Bank acts to keep interest rates low; and that fiscal consolidation efforts be state contingent – allowing room for economic stabilisation. The pro-cyclicality of fiscal policy could also be reduced if, as Shiller has argued, debt amortization were state contingent, being indexed to GD

Production Under Uncertainty: A Simulation Study

In this article we model production technology in a state-contingent framework. Our model analyzes production under uncertainty without regard to the nature of producer risk preferences. In our model producers? risk preferences are captured by the risk-neutral probabilities they assign to the different states of nature. Using a state-general state-contingent specification of technology we show that rational producers who encounter the same stochastic technology can make significantly different production choices. Further, we develop an econometric methodology to estimate the risk-neutral probabilities and the parameters of stochastic technology when there are two states of nature and only one of which is observed. Finally, we simulate data based on our state-general state-contingent specification of technology. Biased estimates of the technology parameters are obtained when we apply conventional ordinary least squares (OLS) estimator on the simulated data.

Estimating State-Contingent Production Frontiers

Chambers and Quiggin (2000) advocate the use of state-contingent production technologies to represent risky production and establish important theoretical results concerning producer behaviour under uncertainty. Unfortunately, perceived problems in the estimation of state-contingent models have limited the usefulness of the approach in policy formulation. We show that fixed and random effects state-contingent production frontiers can be conveniently estimated in a finite mixtures framework. An empirical example is provided. Compared to standard estimation approaches, we find that estimating production frontiers in a state-contingent framework produces significantly different estimates of elasticities, firm technical efficiencies and other quantities of economic interest.

Estimating State-allocable Production Technologies When there are two States of Nature and State Allocations of Inputs are Unobserved.

Chambers and Quiggin (2000) have used state-contingent production theory to establish important results concerning economic behaviour in the presence of uncertainty, including problems of consumer choice, the theory of the firm, and principal-agent relationships. Empirical application of the state contingent approach has proved difficult, not least because most of the data needed for applying standard econometric methods are lost in unrealized states of the world. O’Donnell and Griffiths (2006) show how a restrictive type of state-contingent technology can be estimated in a finite mixtures framework. This paper shows how Bayesian methodology can be used to estimate more flexible types of state-contingent technologies.