Infl
ation-targeting central banks frequently justify their narrow focus on infl
ation by arguing
that maintaining a low and stable rate of in
flation is the best way for them to promote high
employment and output. Yet, neither mainstream economic theory nor existing empirical
studies offer much support for the belief that a country's real economic performance is signi
ficantly improved by reducing the trend rate of infl
ation, except in extreme circumstances.
Indeed, Fortin (1996) and Akerlof et al. (1996) argue that reducing infl
ation too close to
zero worsens economic performance because of downward nominal wage rigidity. Moreover,
too low a rate of in
flation can result in real instability because of the zero lower bound on
nominal interest rates.