Heterogeneity in Macroeconomics and its Implications for Monetary Policy

Download or read book Heterogeneity in Macroeconomics and its Implications for Monetary Policy written by Fabian Schnell and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-04-28 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fabian Schnell develops a model indicating that by keeping real interest rates too low, monetary policy can distort the allocation of resources across firms and potentially delay economic recovery after a recession. This is a new channel of monetary policy that is especially relevant in view of “Quantitative Easing” programs. A second model focuses on the short-term implications of heterogeneously productive firms, showing an acceleration effect of technology shocks. Finally, an empirical investigation of firms’ price-setting behaviors shows that time-dependent factors, relative to state-dependent ones, play a small role with respect to the probability and the size of a price change. All results provide new insights for monetary policy.