Is quantitative easing good policy?

Abstract

This paper asks whether the suite of unorthodox monetary policies (including quantitative easing, or QE) really make sense in the presence of a global liquidity trap. It finds that QE-type policies are an expedient remedy for short-term crisis management, but their ongoing and expanded use have distorted global markets and will have significant dynamic efficiency costs over the next decade. The alternative is for discretionary fiscal policy to play a bigger role in stabilisation, with monetary policy left to accommodate. Both policies should be operated by a single agency accountable to the electorate.