Nominal wage rigidities and the propagation of monetary disturbances

Recent research has challenged the ability of sticky price general equilibrium models to generate a contract multiplier, i.e., an effect of a monetary innovation on output that extends beyond the contract interval. We show that a simple dynamic general equilbrium model that includes "Taylor-style" (1980) wage and price contracts can account for a substantial contract multiplier under various assumptions about the structure of the capital market. Most interestingly, our results do not rely on a high intertemporal labor supply elasticity or elastic supply of capital: our preference specification is standard (logarithmic), and we can account for a strong contract multiplier even when the aggregate stock of capital is fixed. Finally, our analysis highlights the importance of the income elasticity of money demand in accounting for output persistence.Wages ; Econometric models