Gauging the Ability of the FOMC to Respond to Future Recessions

David L. Reifschneider

No 2016-068, Finance and Economics Discussion Series from Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.)

Abstract: Current forecasts suggest that the federal funds rate in the future is likely to level out at a rather low level by historical standards. If so, then the FOMC will have less ability than in the past to cut short-term interest rates in response to a future recession, suggesting a risk that economic downturns could turn out to be more severe as a result. However, simulations of the FRB/US model of a severe recession suggest that large-scale asset purchases and forward guidance about the future path of the federal funds rate should be able to provide enough additional accommodation to fully compensate for a more limited to cut short-term interest rates in most, but probably not all, circumstances.

Keywords: Monetary policy; Asset purchases; Forward guidance; Zero lower bound (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 26 pages
Date: 2016
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-mac and nep-mon
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (13)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:fip:fedgfe:2016-68

DOI: 10.17016/FEDS.2016.068

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