Program: Monetary

Central Banking and Inequality – Taking Off the Blinders

, and | 16 June 2016
Monetary, Blog | Tags: Central Banks, Ethics, Inequality
Since the financial crisis, the relative importance of monetary policy in the toolbox of macroeconomic policies has increased. In parallel, we have seen a renewed social and political concern with rising inequalities in income and wealth. However, the two trends are rarely connected.[1] Despite studies ... continue reading

Finance, Growth and Inequality

and | 31 March 2016
Fiscal, Monetary, Blog | Tags: Financial Markets, Inequality
Finance is the lifeblood of modern economies, but too much of the wrong type of finance can hamper economic prosperity and social cohesion. We have taken a holistic approach to study the consequences of finance for the inclusiveness of growth, in the spirit of the ... continue reading

Monetary Policy According to HANK

, and | 10 March 2016
Monetary, Research Papers | Tags: Inequality, Interest Rates
We revisit the transmission mechanism of monetary policy for household consumption in a Heterogeneous Agent New Keynesian (HANK) model. The model yields empirically realistic distributions of household wealth and marginal propensities to consume because of two key features: multiple assets with different degrees of liquidity ... continue reading

The Transmission of Monetary Policy through Redistributions and Durable Purchases

and | 19 January 2016
Monetary, Research Papers | Tags: Inequality, Lump-Sum Transfers, Sector Bias
This paper studies a redistribution channel for the transmission of monetary policy. Using a tractable OLG setting ... continue reading

The Distributional Implications of the Crisis and Policy Responses

| 8 December 2015
Monetary, Blog | Tags: Inequality, QE
The conduct of monetary policy over the last few years is totally unprecedented. Efforts have been made to influence all parts of the term structure of interest rates and credit spreads as well. Policy rates have been reduced essentially to zero. Forward guidance has also ... continue reading

Looking for a Way out the Subsidies Labyrinth in Argentina

| 16 October 2015
Fiscal, Monetary, Blog | Tags: Energy, Inflation, Subsidies
In the midst of a heated electoral campaign, subsidies are at the centre of the political debate in Argentina. Shock or gradual approaches to reform those transfers have emerged as the buzzwords of the moment as the presidential race heats up. ... continue reading

Price Level Changes and the Redistribution of Nominal Wealth Across the Euro Area

and | 17 September 2015
Monetary, Research Papers | Tags: Inequality, Inflation
We document the presence of sizable nominal wealth redistribution effects from unexpected price level movements in the Euro Area (EA), using sectoral accounts and newly available data from the Household Finance and Consumption Survey. The EA as a whole is a net loser of unexpected ... continue reading

Monetary Policy and the Distribution of Income and Wealth

September 11-12, 2015
Monetary, Workshops | Tags: Inequality, Inflation, QE
There has been intense focus recently on inequality in income and wealth across and within countries. Both developed and developing countries have experienced a marked increase in the gap between high and low income households, as well as an increase in the concentration of income ... continue reading

Low Interest Rates: An Opportunity for Renewables

| 8 July 2015
Monetary, Blog | Tags: Energy, Interest Rates
Putting the economy on an environmentally sustainable path requires a serious shift into green technologies. Such a shift includes substantial investments in technologies that are based on renewable energy to produce electricity – referred to hereinafter as “green energy technologies”. Interest rates directly and significantly ... continue reading

The Impact of Interest Rates on Electricity Production Costs

| 25 June 2015
Monetary, Discussion Notes | Tags: Energy, Interest Rates
Putting the economy on an environmentally sustainable path requires substantial investments in green energy technologies. Long-term interest rates play a crucial role for energy investments. Against this background, we study the impact of interest rates on the costs of producing electricity with different technologies, using ... continue reading