Ramsey Monetary Policy and International Relative Prices

We analyze welfare maximizing monetary policy in a dynamic general equilibrium two-country
model with price stickiness and imperfect competition. In this context, a typical terms
of trade externality affects policy interaction between independent monetary authorities. Unlike
the existing literature, we remain consistent to a public finance approach by an explicit
consideration of all the distortions that are relevant to the Ramsey planner. This strategy entails
two main advantages. First, it allows an accurate characterization of optimal policy in an economy
that evolves around a steady state which is not necessarily efficient. Second, it allows to describe
a full range of alternative dynamic equilibria when price setters in both countries are completely
forward-looking and households' preferences are not restricted. We study optimal policy both in
the long-run and in response to shocks, and we compare commitment under Nash competition
and under cooperation. By deriving a second order accurate solution to the policy functions,
we also characterize the welfare gains from international policy cooperation.