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Research background: The issue of price flexibility is crucial in the economy both in the aspect of company theory and its macroeconomic consequences. In a number of publications, the sources of variable price flexibility are linked to the market power of enterprises as well as the market structure that has developed in a given branch. It is difficult to indicate empirical studies that would state clearly whether price flexibility depends on the degree of monopoly or the market power of enterprises. This paper concerns that particular field of study. Purpose of the article: The purpose of the paper is to present the statistical dependence of the degree of monopoly and market power vs. price flexibility in the economy. Methods: The analysis has been conducted using aggregated data concerning Polish economy in the period from 2001 to 2013, based on COICOP. The degree of monopoly indicator was the average number of companies in a given branch, following the classical models of market structures; the market power indicator was the average net revenue from sales of products per enterprise representing a given branch; the measure of price flexibility was the probability of price variation estimated using the Calvo pricing model. It is, therefore, a frequency-based approach to price flexibility. Statistical dependence was analyzed using the Spearman's rank and Kendall’s tau correlation coefficient and simple regression models. Findings & Value added: The outcomes indicate that in the case of Poland in the analyzed period there is no statistically significant relation between the degree of monopoly and price flexibility and also between the market power and price flexibility. Thus, the findings of the analysis support the studies which reject the assumption that higher degree of monopoly or higher market power of an enterprise is followed by less flexible prices.

The study analyzes the consumer price behavior by employing the micro-level price data for Pakistan. Substantial heterogeneity in the price setting behavior is observed across various products. The study finds that on an average, 15.8 per cent of prices change every week, with mean (median) duration of 5.8 (4) weeks of price spell. For most commodities, price increase is found more often than the price decrease. On an average, prices are increased by 8.1 per cent and reduced by 7.2 per cent. It reveals a broad spectrum of synchronization across cities ranging from partial staggered to perfect synchronized pricing behavior. The sticky nature of regulated commodities in case of Pakistan is confirmed in the study. Highly significant estimates in the regression analysis proves the existence of elements of both, the state dependent as well as the time dependent factors in determining frequency of the price change in Pakistan.

This article would analyze the determination of Rupiah exchange rate by using equilibrium and disequilibrium concepts. This analysis became important for policy maker because disequilibrium reflected distortion towards relative price related to domestic policies. The research results showed that Rupiah exchange rate was in disequilibrium condition. The conclusion was based on Indonesia Bank policies that conducted intervention through some regulations by emerging Indonesia Bank regulations and conducting intervention on foreign exchange market, both in demand and supply. The Indonesia Bank policies aimed to stabilize Rupiah exchange rate that led to equilibrium exchange rate. The research results also showed Purchasing Power Parity did not applied in short term. It indicated market inefficiency and led to price rigidity in commodity market. The price rigidity caused price adjustment did not work. As a result, market was in disequilibrium condition.

In this paper I present the historical, theoretical and empirical background of DSGE models. I show that the fundament of these models lies in optimizing agents framework and argue which impulses fueled the development of DSGE models. I demonstrate the evolution of DSGE models with an accent on the role and effects of the monetary policy, using distinction between RBC models and New Keynesian models. I explain the paradigm shift from the RBC models to the New Keynesian models by pointing out the main pitfalls of the RBC models and showing how adding nominal rigidities to the otherwise standard RBC models enhances empirical properties of these models. I also discuss how nominal rigidities are modeled in New Keynesian DSGE models and what the pros and cons of different approaches are. Finally, I review the most important New Keynesian theories of nominal rigidities and some of the empirical evidence on price and wage rigidities

In an attempt to find out the degree of monetary non-neutrality in Nigeria we started from finding out the size of price rigidity in the country. Computation with Ball and Romer method showed that price rigidity is optimal decision for firms in Nigeria only when the menu cost is well above 2.28% of the firm’s revenue which is on the high side, showing the likelihood of weak price rigidity in the country. Confirming this, the IRFs of the SVAR shows that the response of inflation to nominal shock has only one period lag. These combined results led to a small though persistent response of output to the nominal shock. The result of the study therefore points towards large nominal and small real effect of monetary policy in Nigeria and conclude that monetary policy will be a better option for contractionary plan but not for an expansionary plan.

This article seeks to check the nonlinearity of the Phillips curve in Tunisia for the 1993–2012 period, relying on a hybrid new Keynesian Phillips curve modeled via a Logistic Smooth Transition Regression (LSTR) model with endogenous variables. We estimate this model using the nonlinear instrumental variables. The empirical results corroborate the new Keynesian assumption ofprice rigidity and show that the response of inflation to the output gap tends to be significant only if the inflation rate tends to be relatively high and exceeds a certain threshold. For a low inflation rate, the price rigidity dominates. This result is particularly evident in Tunisia, especially for the years following the 2011 revolution during which the elasticity of inflation rate to an excess demand has become highly important and the inflation rate experienced record levels.