Evidence on the Flexibility of Prices
比较两种价格刚性理论，通过估计企业面临价格调整成本时的利润最大化模型，发现总体价格刚性主要源于个体价格调整缓慢，但两者对名义成本冲击的调整都很快。
We consider two competing theories that provide potentially important explanations of price rigidity. The first theory argues that prices are sticky at the aggregate level because of the cumulative effects of relatively short adjustment lags at the firm level. In contrast, the second theory argues that aggregate prices are slow to adjust because individual prices are slow to adjust. We estimate a structural model in which imperfectly competitive firms set prices in order to maximize profits subject to quadratic costs of price adjustment. The results suggest that to the extent that aggregate price rigidity exists, it can be explained by sluggishness of individual price adjustment. However, prices at both the aggregate and individual level are found to adjust rapidly to nominal cost innovations. Copyright 1994 by MIT Press.