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Monetary Policy with Negative Interest Rates: Decoupling Cash from Electronic Money

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  • Katrin Assenmacher
  • Signe Krogstrup

Abstract

Monetary policy space remains constrained by the lower bound in many countries, limiting the policy options available to address future deflationary shocks. The existence of cash prevents central banks from cutting interest rates much below zero. In this paper, we consider the practical feasibility of recent proposals for decoupling cash from electronic money to achieve a negative yield on cash which would remove the lower bound constraint on monetary policy. We discuss how central banks could design and operate such a system, and raise some unanswered questions.

Suggested Citation

  • Katrin Assenmacher & Signe Krogstrup, 2018. "Monetary Policy with Negative Interest Rates: Decoupling Cash from Electronic Money," IMF Working Papers 2018/191, International Monetary Fund.
    • Handle: RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2018/191
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    2. Agur, Itai & Ari, Anil & Dell’Ariccia, Giovanni, 2022. "Designing central bank digital currencies," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 62-79.
    3. Sinn Hans-Werner, 2019. "Der Streit um die Targetsalden : Kommentar zu Martin Hellwigs Artikel „Target-Falle oder Empörungsfalle?“," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, De Gruyter, vol. 20(3), pages 170-217, September.
    4. Schelling, Tan & Towbin, Pascal, 2022. "What lies beneath—Negative interest rates and bank lending," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    5. Eswar Prasad, 2020. "New and evolving financial technologies implications for monetary policy and financial stability in Latin America," Documentos de trabajo 19463, FLAR.
    6. Christian Pfister & Jean-Guillaume Sahuc, 2020. "Unconventional monetary policies: A stock-taking exercise," Revue d'économie politique, Dalloz, vol. 130(2), pages 137-169.
    7. Md. Mahmudul Alam & Ala Eldin Awawdeh & Azim Izzuddin Bin Muhamad, 2021. "Using e-wallet for business process development: challenges and prospects in Malaysia," Post-Print hal-03538151, HAL.
    8. Paul Pichler & Martin Summer & Beat Weber, 2020. "Does digitalization require Central Bank Digital Currencies for the general public?," Monetary Policy & the Economy, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank), issue Q4/19, pages 40-56.
    9. Jack Meaning & Ben Dyson & James Barker & Emily Clayton, 2021. "Broadening Narrow Money: Monetary Policy with a Central Bank Digital Currency," International Journal of Central Banking, International Journal of Central Banking, vol. 17(2), pages 1-42, June.
    10. Christian A. Conrad, 2019. "The Effects on Investment Behavior of Zero Interest Rate Policy¡ªEvidence From a Roulette Experiment," Applied Economics and Finance, Redfame publishing, vol. 6(4), pages 18-27, July.
    11. Ruchir Agarwal & Miles Kimball, 2019. "Enabling Deep Negative Rates to Fight Recessions: A Guide," IMF Working Papers 2019/084, International Monetary Fund.
    12. Glocker, Christian & Piribauer, Philipp, 2021. "Digitalization, retail trade and monetary policy," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    13. Mishra, Bineet & Prasad, Eswar, 2023. "A Simple Model of a Central Bank Digital Currency," IZA Discussion Papers 16154, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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