Política monetária em debate

UNCONVENTIONAL MONETARY POLICY
IN THEORY AND IN PRACTICE
by Martina Cecioni*, Giuseppe Ferrero* and Alessandro Secchi*
Abstract
In this paper, after discussing the theoretical underpinnings of unconventional
monetary policy measures, we review the existing empirical evidence on their effectiveness,
focusing on those adopted by the European Central Bank and by the Federal Reserve. These
measures operate in two ways: through the signalling channel and through the portfoliobalance
channel. In the former, the central bank can use communication to steer interest rates
and to restore confidence in the financial markets; the latter hinges on the hypothesis of
imperfect substitutability of assets and liabilities in the balance sheet of the private sector
and postulates that the central bank’s asset purchases and liquidity provision lower financial
yields and improve funding conditions. The review of the empirical literature suggests that
the unconventional measures were effective and that their impact on the economy was
sizeable. However, a very large degree of uncertainty surrounds the precise quantification of
these effects.
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Veja também:
Economic research showed years ago that targeting nominal G.D.P. has important advantages. But in the 1990s, many central banks adopted inflation targeting, a simpler alternative. As distress over the dismal state of the economy has grown, however, many economists have returned to the logic of targeting nominal G.D.P.
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