Two Reasons Why Money and Credit May Be Useful in Monetary Policy

43 Pages Posted: 16 Oct 2007 Last revised: 24 Nov 2022

See all articles by Lawrence J. Christiano

Lawrence J. Christiano

Northwestern University; Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland; Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago; Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Roberto Motto

European Central Bank (ECB)

Massimo Rostagno

European Central Bank (ECB)

Date Written: October 2007

Abstract

We describe two examples which illustrate in different ways how money and credit may be useful in the conduct of monetary policy. Our first example shows how monitoring money and credit can help anchor private sector expectations about inflation. Our second example shows that a monetary policy that focuses too narrowly on inflation may inadvertently contribute to welfare-reducing boom-bust cycles in real and financial variables. The example is of some interest because it is based on a monetary policy rule fit to aggregate data. We show that a policy of monetary tightening when credit growth is strong can mitigate the problems identified in our second example.

Suggested Citation

Christiano, Lawrence J. and Motto, Roberto and Rostagno, Massimo, Two Reasons Why Money and Credit May Be Useful in Monetary Policy (October 2007). NBER Working Paper No. w13502, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1021980

Lawrence J. Christiano (Contact Author)

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Roberto Motto

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Massimo Rostagno

European Central Bank (ECB) ( email )

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