When Communication becomes the Policy
Non-standard policy measures are intended to work via financial markets. Their effectiveness thus depends on how ECB communication affects the expectations of market participants far into the future. Communication has become as important as the details of the policy measures itself. The success of communication is often measured by short term market reactions, increasingly using […]
ECB non-standard policies and collateral constraints
Collateral constitutes an indispensable lubricant for the financial system. Government bonds constitute the most important source of collateral, for use in inter-bank and repo transactions. But, the vast bond buying program of the ECB in the context of the Public Sector Purchase Programme has not led to any collateral scarcity. Banks still hold very large […]
Persistent low inflation in the euro area
The huge literature on the causes of the persistent weakness in inflation in the euro area has not identified one single key factor. Moreover, inflation has also been lower than expected in many advanced countries. Low inflation expectations seem to have played an important role in reducing wage demand, both in the US and the […]
Implications of the expanding use of cash for monetary policy
Financial innovation seems to have had little impact on the oldest medium of transaction, namely cash. The ratio of currency in circulation to GDP has increased in most countries, independently of the continuing spread of cashless transactions. Currency is part of the monetary base. Its increase thus leads to an automatic increase in central banks’ […]
Side effects of non-standard monetary policy
In the short- to medium-run, non-standard monetary policy helps to stimulate the economy and stabilize financial markets. However, it is also widely acknowledged that side effects tend to materialize in the medium- to long-run. Thus, the time dimension is a crucial factor in assessing the riskiness of this policy approach. For the February 2017 session […]