Monetary policy and the punch bowl. The case for quantitative policy and wage growth targeting
Institut für Makroökonomie und Konjunkturforschung, Düsseldorf
IMK - Düsseldorf
2017
28 p.
economic growth ; monetary policy ; regulation ; wages
IMK Working Paper
177
Financing and monetary policy
English
Bibliogr.
"Federal Reserve Chairman William McChesney Martin famously declared that the Federal Reserve "is in the position of the chaperone who has ordered the punch bowl removed just when the party was really warming up." This paper uses the punch bowl metaphor to analyze how the Federal Reserve can improve monetary policy so as to deliver shared prosperity with greater financial stability. The problem is the party starts earlier on Wall Street than Main Street, so the Fed may remove the punchbowl before the party reaches Main Street. Ensuring Main Street attends the party requires a new recipe for the punch, new serving rules, and a new punch master. Additionally, there is a deeper problem that current neoliberal growth model has the economy addicted to monetary punch. Resolving that requires a cure that goes beyond the punch bowl."
Digital
The ETUI is co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the ETUI.