The impact of unconventional monetary policy in the euro area. Structural and scenario analysis from a Bayesian VAR

This paper employs a medium scale Bayesian VAR model to provide a rich picture of the transmission of unconventional monetary policy (UMP) shocks in various dimensions of the economy, and to shed light on the appropriate policy mix that the central bank could adopt to fulfil its price stability mandate. We show that UMP shocks have a significant positive impact on both economic activity and inflation; stem financial market stress episodes and boost economic sentiment. Additionally, several channels seem to have been activated, including the exchange rate, inflation expectations and the bank lending channel. Counterfactual policy analysis suggests that a policy mix that combines the use of permanently negative interest rates with a balance sheet expansion at a steady pace over a long period, could bring inflation closer to the target. Alternative policy scenarios that, either give more weight on the purchases during the first months or, terminate asset purchases too early, would fail to keep inflation on track to meet its target.