Price Rigidities, Asymmetries, and Output Fluctuations

In this paper we characterize the average response of output to aggregate demand shocks in an economy where individual firms follow state-dependent pricing rules. We find that: (i) the average response of output to aggregate demand shocks decreases with core inflation and varies non-monotonically with aggregate uncertainty, (ii) there is an asymmetry in the response of output to aggregate demand expansions and contractions, which increases with core inflation and decreases with aggregate uncertainty, and (iii) this asymmetry also rises with the degree of asymmetry of aggregate demand shocks. Using annual data from 37 moderate-low inflation countries for the period 1960-1982, we find support for the basic implications of the model.