Monetary transmission mechanism

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The monetary transmission mechanism is the process by which asset prices and general economic conditions are affected as a result of monetary policy decisions. Such decisions are intended to influence the aggregate demand, interest rates, and amounts of money and credit in order to affect overall economic performance. The traditional monetary transmission mechanism occurs through interest rate channels, which affect interest rates, costs of borrowing, levels of physical investment, and aggregate demand. Additionally, aggregate demand can be affected through friction in the credit markets, known as the credit view. In short, the monetary transmission mechanism can be defined as the link between monetary policy and aggregate demand.

Contents

Traditional interest rate channels

An interest rate channel may be categorized as traditional, which means monetary policy affects real (rather than nominal) interest rates, which influence investment, spending on new housing, consumer spending, and aggregate demand. An easing of monetary policy in the traditional view leads to a decrease in real interest rates, which lowers the cost of borrowing resulting in greater investment spending, which results in an overall increase in aggregate demand. [1]

Credit view

Apart from the traditional channel which focuses on effects as a result of changes to the interest rate, additional methods exist to allow monetary policy to achieve the desired economic results and changes in aggregate demand, but through different channels categorized as the credit view. [2] The credit view argues that financial friction in the credit markets creates additional channels that lead to changes in aggregate demand. These channels operate through effects on bank lending, as well as the effects on the balance sheet of a given firm or household. [2]

Monetary policy affects bank deposits, leading to changes in the amount of bank loans and investment in residential housing. [2]

Monetary policy affects stock prices, leading to moral hazard and adverse selection, which leads to changes in lending activity and investment [2]

Monetary policy leads to changes in nominal interest rates, which affects cash flow, leading to moral hazard, adverse selection, and changes in lending activity and investment [2]

Monetary policy can lead to unanticipated price level changes, resulting in moral hazard, adverse selection, and changes in lending activity and investment [2]

Monetary policy affects stock prices, leading to changes in financial wealth and the probability of financial distress, which affects residential housing and consumer spending [2]

Other asset price effects

Finally, other asset price effects have separate channels which allow monetary policy to affect aggregate demand:

Monetary policy affects real interest rates and the exchange rate, leading to changes in net exports [2]

Monetary policy affects stock prices, leading to changes in Tobin's q (the market value of firms divided by the replacement cost of capital) and investment [2]

Monetary policy affects stock prices, which affects financial wealth and consumption (consumer spending on nondurable goods and services) [2]

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The credit channel mechanism of monetary policy describes the theory that a central bank's policy changes affect the amount of credit that banks issue to firms and consumers for purchases, which in turn affects the real economy.

Monetary policy is the monitoring and control of money supply by a central bank, such as the Federal Reserve Board in the United States of America, and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in the Philippines. This is used by the government to be able to control inflation, and stabilize currency. Monetary Policy is considered to be one of the two ways that the government can influence the economy – the other one being Fiscal Policy. Monetary Policy is generally the process by which the central bank, or government controls the supply and availability of money, the cost of money, and the rate of interest.

The asset price channel is the monetary transmission channel that is responsible for the distribution of the effects induced by monetary policy decisions made by the central bank of a country that affect the price of assets. These effects on the prices of assets will in turn affect the economy.

The interest rate channel is a mechanism of monetary policy, whereby a policy-induced change in the short-term nominal interest rate by the central bank affects the price level, and subsequently output and employment.

References

  1. Ireland, Peter N. (2005). "The Monetary Transmission Mechanism". Working Paper Series. Rochester, NY: Federal Reserve Bank of Boston (6–1). SSRN   887524 .
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Mishkin, Frederic (2012). The Economics of Money, Banking, and Financial Markets. Prentice Hall. ISBN   9781408200728.

Further reading