The Zero Lower Bound, ECB Interest Rate Policy and the Financial Crisis

44 Pages Posted: 24 Oct 2011

See all articles by Stefan Gerlach

Stefan Gerlach

Central Bank of Ireland; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

John Lewis

De Nederlandsche Bank - Econometric Research and Special Studies

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: July 1, 2010

Abstract

This paper estimates a monetary policy reaction function for the ECB over the period 1999-2009. To allow for a potential shift in interest rate setting during the financial crisis, we permit a smooth transition from one set of parameters to another. The estimates show a swift change in the months following the collapse of Lehman brothers. They suggest that the ECB cut rates more aggressively than expected solely on the basis of the worsening of macroeconomic conditions, consistent with the theoretical literature on optimal monetary policy in the vicinity of the zero bound.

Keywords: ECB, reaction functions, zero lower bound, smooth transition

JEL Classification: C2, E52

Suggested Citation

Gerlach, Stefan and Lewis, John, The Zero Lower Bound, ECB Interest Rate Policy and the Financial Crisis (July 1, 2010). De Nederlandsche Bank Working Paper No. 254, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1948547 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1948547

Stefan Gerlach (Contact Author)

Central Bank of Ireland ( email )

P.O. Box 559
Dame Street
Dublin, 2
Ireland

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) ( email )

London
United Kingdom

John Lewis

De Nederlandsche Bank - Econometric Research and Special Studies ( email )

Amsterdam
Netherlands

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
111
Abstract Views
841
Rank
433,798
PlumX Metrics