The Trade-off between Inflation and Unemployment in an MMT World: An Open Economy Perspective

This paper is focused on modern monetary theory’s (MMT) treatment of inflation from an openeconomy perspective. It analyses how the inflation process is explained within the MMT framework and provides empirical evidence in support of this vision. However, it also makes use of a stock–flow consistent open-economy model to underline some limits of the theory when it is applied in the context of a non-US (relatively) open economy with a flexible exchange-rate regime. The model challenges the contention made by MMT-ers that measures such as the job guarantee programme can achieve full employment without facing an inflation–unemployment trade-off.