Unconventional Monetary Policy in Theory and in Practice

In this chapter, after discussing the theoretical underpinnings of unconventional monetary policy measures, we review the existing empirical evidence on their effectiveness, focusing on those adopted by central banks, particularly the Federal Reserve. These measures operate in two ways — through the signaling channel and through the portfolio balance channel. In the former, the central bank uses communication to steer interest rates and to restore confidence in the financial markets; the latter hinges on the 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 in some markets. Our review of the empirical literature suggests that the unconventional measures were effective and that their impact on the economy was sizeable. However, a large degree of uncertainty surrounds the precise quantification of these effects.