Structural Reforms at the Zero Bound

European Economy Economic Papers 537, 2014

28 Pages Posted: 26 Feb 2016

See all articles by Lukas Vogel

Lukas Vogel

European Union - European Commission

Date Written: November 30, 2014

Abstract

The paper uses the a 2-sector multi-region (reforming euro-area region, rest of euro area, rest of world) of the QUEST macroeconomic model to analyse the impact of structural reforms on economic activity in a macroeconomic environment in which the zero bound on monetary policy rates is temporarily binding. The model simulations focus on structural policies with deflationary impact, namely reforms that increase competition and reduce mark-ups and labour costs in the economy. The simulations suggest that the short-term output response to reforms can indeed be negative. Such negative effects are, however, small and rather short-lived in the model incorporating a variety of transmission channels. Simulations that compare current and preannounced future reforms do, furthermore, not support the idea that postponing structural reforms improves economic conditions at the zero bound. Judged by the impact on economic activity, pre-commitment to future reforms performs worse than frontloaded implementation.

Keywords: DSGE model, structural policies, zero bound, real interest rate, wealth effect, precommitment

JEL Classification: E20, E30, E60, F40

Suggested Citation

Vogel, Lukas, Structural Reforms at the Zero Bound (November 30, 2014). European Economy Economic Papers 537, 2014, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2738407 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2738407

Lukas Vogel (Contact Author)

European Union - European Commission ( email )

Rue de la Loi 200
Brussels, B-1049
Belgium

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