The inflation tax in a convex model of equilibrium growth

A general equilibrium monetary economy is described that exhibits equilibrium growth. The production technology is consistent with Holes and Manuelli (1990) and Rebelo (1991). The inflation tax and nominal interest rates are shown to be inversely related to the equilibrium growth rates of real variables until a critical point is reached. At this point, equilibrium growth is eliminated and the predictions of Stockman (1981) and Abel (1985) concerning the "level effects' of distortionary monetary policies appear. For the nominal side of the model, a version of the prediction of Friedman (1969) is shown to hold for a particular balanced growth path. Following King and Rebelo (1990), a linear growth version of the model is calibrated to illustrate the potentially large growth and welfare effects of moderate inflations. -Authors