In the good old days when economies were growing close to trend, monetary policy was about setting interest rates. Nowadays it is a complex mix of quantitative easing, credit easing, liquidity provision, prudential controls and debt management. With economies stagnant and interest rates near zero, central banks are trying other ways to induce banks to lend and companies to borrow. As a practical matter, promoting financial stability and restarting growth are the priorities, rather than inflation control. This creates two major problems.
在舊日的好時光,各國經濟以接近趨勢水平的速度增長,央行貨幣政策的內容就是設定利率。而如今,貨幣政策已成為一個包含量化寬松、放松信貸、提供流動性、審慎控制和債務管理等多項內容的復雜組合。隨著各國經濟陷入停滯,利率接近于零,央行開始嘗試以其他途徑引導銀行放貸、鼓勵企業貸款。一個實際情況是,維護金融穩定、使經濟恢復增長取代了通脹控制,成為央行的優先目標。這就造成了兩大問題。