This paper looks back on the professional consensus about monetary policy at the zero bound prior to the 2008 crisis and proposes a calibrated model that provides one interpretation to explain why it was somewhat off base. The general consensus in the economics profession in the late 1990s when Japan ...

The dramatic policy response to the 2008-09 global economic crisis from many countries has revived some old debates about the use of fiscal and monetary policy in fighting recessions. The central dilemma for policy-makers in Japan North America and Europe has been to try to counter a large recession ...

Large negative aggregate demand shocks can drive down an economy’s equilibrium real interest rate and if the central bank is committed to stabilizing inflation monetary policy may be hampered by the zero lower bound on nominal interest rates –the economy may be in a 'liquidity trap.' The policy dilemma ...

This paper considers whether issues regarding liquidity trap or zero lower bound phenomena substantially affect the case for inflation targeting, in comparison with other possible strategies for conducting monetary policy. It examines both theoretical and empirical issues and, in the latter case, ...