Central banks and inequality

Abstract

Monetary policy measures in reaction to the Global Financial Crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in unprecedented (re)distributional effects. In addition, Central Bank (CB) interventions have been conceptualized as targeted measures favouring certain market participants compared to others. Against this background, discussions about CBs and inequality have sparked in the economic and legal literature. The article takes up this discourse and sheds light on the different aspects of equality within monetary policy: equality as an objective of monetary policy, equality and inequality considerations with regard to the design of monetary policy measures, and equality and inequality as side effects of monetary policy and the interaction between inequality and the monetary policy transmission. The aim is to provide a structural analysis of how the notion of equality is embedded in the mandate of the ECB and how it translates into legal requirements with regard to the implementation of monetary policy measures. Central Banks, inequality, ECB, monetary policy, global financial crisis, COVID-19