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Helicopter money: what is it and what does it do?

Author

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  • Reis, Ricardo
  • Tenreyro, Silvana

Abstract

We review the different meanings of helicopter money, both in the literature and in the public debate around it, and we clarify the conditions under which helicopter money can have an impact on real activity. To do so, we set out a simple model that encapsulates a number of potential channels of policy transmission. The model provides a taxonomy of possibilities for helicopter money to affect the economy, as well as a benchmark set of conditions under which helicopter money is neutral. We use the model to analyze and discuss the impact that helicopter drops might have in response to a number of economic shocks, including a financial crisis, a fiscal crisis, and a pandemic.

Suggested Citation

  • Reis, Ricardo & Tenreyro, Silvana, 2022. "Helicopter money: what is it and what does it do?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 114593, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:114593
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    File URL: https://researchonline.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/114593/
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kenneth Rogoff, 2017. "Dealing with Monetary Paralysis at the Zero Bound," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 31(3), pages 47-66, Summer.
    2. Ricardo Reis, 2013. "The Mystique Surrounding the Central Bank's Balance Sheet, Applied to the European Crisis," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(3), pages 135-140, May.
    3. Willem H. Buiter, 2003. "Helicopter Money: Irredeemable Fiat Money and the Liquidity Trap," NBER Working Papers 10163, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    6. Josh Ryan-Collins & Frank van Lerven, 2018. "Bringing the helicopter to ground: a historical review of fiscal-monetary coordination to support economic growth in the 20th century," Working Papers PKWP1810, Post Keynesian Economics Society (PKES).
    7. Thomas J. Carter & Rhys R. Mendes, 2020. "The Power of Helicopter Money Revisited: A New Keynesian Perspective," Discussion Papers 2020-1, Bank of Canada.
    8. Jordi Galí, 2015. "Monetary Policy, Inflation, and the Business Cycle: An Introduction to the New Keynesian Framework and Its Applications Second edition," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 2, number 10495, December.
    9. Gertler, Mark & Kiyotaki, Nobuhiro, 2010. "Financial Intermediation and Credit Policy in Business Cycle Analysis," Handbook of Monetary Economics, in: Benjamin M. Friedman & Michael Woodford (ed.), Handbook of Monetary Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 11, pages 547-599, Elsevier.
    10. Claudio Borio & Anna Zabai, 2018. "Unconventional monetary policies: a re-appraisal," Chapters, in: Peter Conti-Brown & Rosa M. Lastra (ed.), Research Handbook on Central Banking, chapter 20, pages 398-444, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    11. Eran Yashiv, 2020. "Breaking the taboo: The political economy of COVID-motivated helicopter drops," CEPR Press Book Chapters, in: AgneÌ€s BeÌ nassy-QueÌ reÌ & Beatrice Weder di Mauro (ed.), Europe in the Time of Covid-19, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 1, pages 240-244, Centre for Economic Policy Research.
    12. Oh, Hyunseung & Reis, Ricardo, 2012. "Targeted transfers and the fiscal response to the great recession," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(S), pages 50-64.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Cars Hommes & Isabelle Salle & Julien Pinter, 2026. "Fiscal Beliefs & Narratives," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 26-031/VI, Tinbergen Institute.
    3. Max Sina Knicker & Karl Naumann-Woleske & Jean-Philippe Bouchaud & Francesco Zamponi, 2025. "Post-COVID inflation and the monetary policy dilemma: an agent-based scenario analysis," Journal of Economic Interaction and Coordination, Springer;Society for Economic Science with Heterogeneous Interacting Agents, vol. 20(1), pages 141-195, January.
    4. Christiaan van der Kwaak, 2024. "Monetary financing does not produce miraculous fiscal multipliers," Discussion Papers 2417, Centre for Macroeconomics (CFM).
    5. Seip, Knut L. & Zhang, Dan, 2025. "A tale of the two recessions 2008 and 2020: What do the Taylor rule, the Phillips curve and Okun's law tell?," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 47(3), pages 681-701.
    6. Temperini, Jacopo & D'Ippoliti, Carlo & Gobbi, Lucio, 2024. "Is the time ripe for helicopter money? Growth impact and financial stability risks of outright monetary transfers," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 24-36.
    7. Hans Gersbach & Jean-Charles Rochet & Ernst-Ludwig von Thadden, 2026. "Central Bank Reserves and the Balance Sheet of Banks," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2025_765, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany.
    8. Ida Daisuke & Okano Mitsuhiro, 2024. "Does Nominal Wage Stickiness Affect Fiscal Multiplier in a Two-Agent New Keynesian Model?," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 24(2), pages 883-928.
    9. Cars Hommes & Julien Pinter & Isabelle Salle, 2023. "What People Believe about Monetary Finance and What We Can(‘t) Do about It: Evidence from a Large-Scale, Multi-Country Survey Experiment," CESifo Working Paper Series 10574, CESifo.
    10. Klus, Sylwia & Rogalinska, Aleksandra & Stefanski, Artur & Urbanowicz, Zuzanna & Wanat, Leszek, 2023. "Dilemmas of Bank Activities Under Economic Uncertainty -Selected Examples from the Polish Market from the Pandemic Period," Roczniki (Annals), Polish Association of Agricultural Economists and Agribusiness - Stowarzyszenie Ekonomistow Rolnictwa e Agrobiznesu (SERiA), vol. 2023(3).
    11. repec:osf:osfxxx:j7phu_v1 is not listed on IDEAS

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy
    • E63 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Comparative or Joint Analysis of Fiscal and Monetary Policy; Stabilization; Treasury Policy
    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles

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