An important part of monetary policy is the monetary transmission mechanism, the process by which monetary policy actions influence the economy. While the transmission mechanism involves a number of channels, including exchange rates, bank credit, and asset prices, most economists consider interest rates to be the principal avenue by which monetary policy affects economic activity.> In recent decades, significant changes in the structure of financial markets and institutions in the United States may have altered the interest rate channel. Key developments include the deregulation of the financial system, the growth of capital markets as an alternative to bank intermediation, increased competition among intermediaries both domestically and internationally, and greater transparency by the Federal Reserve about monetary policy operations. These changes may have altered both the timing and magnitude of the response of interest rates to monetary policy. Indeed, the failure of long-term interest rates to respond to monetary policy easing during the past year has been cited in the financial press as an indication that monetary policy may now have less influence on interest rates than in the past.> Sellon examines how the changing financial system has affected the interest rate channel of monetary policy. He finds that the response of interest rates to monetary policy, rather than diminishing, has actually increased considerably over time. Indeed, bank lending rates on consumer and business loans and mortgage rates now appear to exhibit a much stronger and faster response to monetary policy actions than in the past. Moreover, institutional changes, such as the increased use of variable-rate loans and the availability of low-cost mortgage refinancing, may have altered the transmission mechanism, potentially broadening the influence of monetary policy on the economy.
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
file. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
Publisher Info
Article provided by Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in its journal Economic Review.
Volume (Year): (2002) Issue (Month): Q I () Pages: 5-35 Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML,
plain text,
BibTeX,
RIS (EndNote),
ReDIF
References listed on IDEAS Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
Cited by: (explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)