MONEY SUPPLY vs NOMINAL INCOME TARGETS UNDER MONEY SUPPLY AND MULTIPLIER UNCERTAINTIES

Abstract

Targeting nominal income is sometimes advocated over targeting money supply because the former is simply one step closer to the ultimate goal of the stabilization of real economic activity. The unsatisfactory records of achieving the money supply target itself are often criticized as well by the advocates of nominal income targeting. In this note, I shall show that the imprecise controllability of money supply per se is a factor against, rather than for, targeting nominal income. The presence of multiplier uncertainty leads to a similar conclusion.