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Monetary policy and household inequality

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  • Ampudia, Miguel
  • Georgarakos, Dimitris
  • Slacalek, Jiri
  • Tristani, Oreste
  • Vermeulen, Philip
  • Violante, Giovanni L.

Abstract

This paper considers how monetary policy produces heterogeneous effects on euro area households, depending on the composition of their income and on the components of their wealth. We first review the existing evidence on how monetary policy affects income and wealth inequality. We then illustrate quantitatively how various channels of transmission — net interest rate exposure, inter-temporal substitution and indirect income channels — affect individual euro area households. We find that the indirect income channel has an overwhelming importance, especially for households holding few or no liquid assets. The indirect income channel is therefore also a substantial driver of changes in consumption at the aggregate level. JEL Classification: D14, D31, E21, E52, E58

Suggested Citation

  • Ampudia, Miguel & Georgarakos, Dimitris & Slacalek, Jiri & Tristani, Oreste & Vermeulen, Philip & Violante, Giovanni L., 2018. "Monetary policy and household inequality," Working Paper Series 2170, European Central Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20182170
    Note: 2445760
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    2. Andersen, Asger Lau & Johannesen, Niels & Jørgensen, Mia & Peydró, José-Luis, 2020. "Monetary Policy and Inequality," EconStor Preprints 227763, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
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    4. Slacalek, Jiri & Tristani, Oreste & Violante, Giovanni L., 2020. "Household balance sheet channels of monetary policy: A back of the envelope calculation for the euro area," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
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    7. Mumtaz, Haroon & Theophilopoulou, Angeliki, 2020. "Monetary policy and wealth inequality over the great recession in the UK. An empirical analysis," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    8. Anna Samarina & Anh D.M. Nguyen, 2019. "Does monetary policy affect income inequality in the euro area?," Bank of Lithuania Working Paper Series 61, Bank of Lithuania.
    9. Ahiadorme, Johnson Worlanyo, 2020. "Monetary policy transmission and income inequality in Sub-Saharan Africa," MPRA Paper 104084, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Neyer, Ulrike & Stempel, Daniel, 2019. "Macroeconomic effects of gender discrimination," DICE Discussion Papers 324, University of Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE).
    11. Bank for International Settlements, 2019. "Unconventional monetary policy tools: a cross-country analysis," CGFS Papers, Bank for International Settlements, number 63, Autumn.
    12. Marcin Bielecki & Michał Brzoza-Brzezina & Marcin Kolasa, 2020. "Distributional consequences of conventional and unconventional monetary policy," NBP Working Papers 327, Narodowy Bank Polski, Economic Research Department.
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    15. Neves Costa, Rita & Pérez-Duarte, Sébastien, 2019. "Not all inequality measures were created equal - The measurement of wealth inequality, its decompositions, and an application to European household wealth," Statistics Paper Series 31, European Central Bank.
    16. Andrea Colciago & Anna Samarina & Jakob de Haan, 2019. "Central Bank Policies And Income And Wealth Inequality: A Survey," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(4), pages 1199-1231, September.
    17. Stempel, Daniel & Neyer, Ulrike, 2019. "The Effects of Gender Discrimination in DSGE Models," VfS Annual Conference 2019 (Leipzig): 30 Years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall - Democracy and Market Economy 203556, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    18. Patrizio Tirelli & Maria Ferrara, 2020. "Disinflation, Inequality, And Welfare In A Tank Model," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 58(3), pages 1297-1313, July.
    19. Schnabl, Gunther, 2018. "70 years after the German currency and economic reform: The monetary, economic and political order in Europe is disturbed," Working Papers 156, University of Leipzig, Faculty of Economics and Management Science.
    20. Nalban, Valeriu, 2018. "Sectoral intermediate goods and redistributive effects of economic policies," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 292-307.
    21. Lenza, Michele & Slacalek, Jiri, 2018. "How does monetary policy affect income and wealth inequality? Evidence from quantitative easing in the euro area," Working Paper Series 2190, European Central Bank.
    22. Claudio Borio, 2019. "Central banking in challenging times," BIS Working Papers 829, Bank for International Settlements.
    23. Eiji Goto, 2020. "Industry Impacts of Unconventional Monetary Policy," 2020 Papers pgo873, Job Market Papers.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    household heterogeneity; inequality; monetary policy; quantitative easing;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy
    • E58 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Central Banks and Their Policies

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