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Should monetary policy \"lean or clean\"?

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  • William R. White

Abstract

It has been contended by many in the central banking community that monetary policy would not be effective in \"leaning\" against the upswing of a credit cycle (the boom) but that lower interest rates would be effective in \"cleaning\" up (the bust) afterwards. In this paper, these two propositions (can't lean, but can clean) are examined and found seriously deficient. In particular, it is contended in this paper that monetary policies designed solely to deal with short term problems of insufficient demand could make medium term problems worse by encouraging a buildup of debt that cannot be sustained over time. The conclusion reached is that monetary policy should be more focused on \"preemptive tightening\" to moderate credit bubbles than on \"preemptive easing\" to deal with the after effects. There is a need for a new macrofinancial stability framework that would use both regulatory and monetary instruments to resist credit bubbles and thus promote sustainable economic growth over time.

Suggested Citation

  • William R. White, 2009. "Should monetary policy \"lean or clean\"?," Globalization Institute Working Papers 34, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
  • Handle: RePEc:fip:feddgw:34
    Note: Published as: White, William R. (2009), "Should Monetary Policy Lean or Clean: A Reassessment," Central Banking 19 (4): 32-42.
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    File URL: http://dallasfed.org/assets/documents/institute/wpapers/2009/0034.pdf
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    Cited by:

    1. Andrew Filardo & Hans Genberg, 2010. "Monetary Policy Strategies in the Asia and Pacific Region : What Way Forward?," Finance Working Papers 23011, East Asian Bureau of Economic Research.
    2. Blot, Christophe & Creel, Jérôme & Hubert, Paul & Labondance, Fabien & Saraceno, Francesco, 2015. "Assessing the link between price and financial stability," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 16(C), pages 71-88.
    3. Olivier Mesly & David W. Shanafelt & Nicolas Huck & François‐Éric Racicot, 2020. "From wheel of fortune to wheel of misfortune: Financial crises, cycles, and consumer predation," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(4), pages 1195-1212, December.
    4. Cukierman, Alex, 2013. "Monetary policy and institutions before, during, and after the global financial crisis," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 373-384.
    5. Ravn, Søren Hove, 2014. "Asymmetric monetary policy towards the stock market: A DSGE approach," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 39(PA), pages 24-41.
    6. Lucjan T. Orlowski, 2012. "Financial crisis and extreme market risks: Evidence from Europe," Review of Financial Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 21(3), pages 120-130, September.
    7. Gilles, Philippe & Huchet, Nicolas & Gauvin, Marie-Sophie, 2012. "Politique monétaire, choix de portefeuille du secteur bancaire et canal de la prise de risque," L'Actualité Economique, Société Canadienne de Science Economique, vol. 88(2), pages 175-196, Juin.
    8. Merrouche, Ouarda & Nier, Erlend, 2017. "Capital inflows, monetary policy, and financial imbalances," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 117-142.
    9. Dong Beom Choi & Hyun-Soo Choi, 2021. "The Effect of Monetary Policy on Bank Wholesale Funding," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(1), pages 388-416, January.
    10. Mara Pirovano, 2013. "Household and firm leverage, capital flows and monetary policy in a small open economy," Working Paper Research 246, National Bank of Belgium.
    11. Hudepohl, Tom & van Lamoen, Ryan & de Vette, Nander, 2021. "Quantitative easing and exuberance in stock markets: Evidence from the euro area," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    12. Charles Bean, 2018. "Central Banking after the Great Recession," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(1), pages 2-15, February.
    13. Antonio Torrero Mañas, 2014. "España, una recesión de balance," Working Papers 10/14, Instituto Universitario de Análisis Económico y Social.
    14. Chia-Lin Chang & Jukka Ilomäki & Hannu Laurila, 2021. "Leaning against the Bubble: Central Bank Intervention in Walrasian Asset Markets," Risks, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-12, December.
    15. van Holle, Frederiek, 2017. "Essays in empirical finance and monetary policy," Other publications TiSEM 30d11a4b-7bc9-4c81-ad24-5, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    16. Mark J. Carney, 2009. "Commentary: using monetary policy to stabilize economic activity," Proceedings - Economic Policy Symposium - Jackson Hole, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, pages 297-311.
    17. Mishkin, Frederic S., 2017. "Rethinking monetary policy after the crisis," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(PB), pages 252-274.
    18. Drobyshevsky, S. & Trunin, P., 2014. "The Evolution of Theory and Practice of Monetary Policy as a Result of the Global Economic Crisis," Journal of the New Economic Association, New Economic Association, vol. 24(4), pages 141-158.
    19. Charles R. Bean, 2019. "A Review Essay: David Kynaston's Till Time's Last Sand: A History of the Bank of England, 1694–2013," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 57(4), pages 972-987, December.
    20. Lukáš Pfeifer & Zdeněk Pikhart, 2014. "Vztah finanční a cenové stability v podmínkách ČR [The Relationship of Financial and Price Stability in the Context of the Czech Republic]," Politická ekonomie, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2014(1), pages 49-66.
    21. Caraiani, Petre & Luik, Marc-André & Wesselbaum, Dennis, 2020. "Credit policy and asset price bubbles," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    22. Kowalski, Tadeusz & Shachmurove, Yochanan, 2014. "The reaction of the U.S. and the European Monetary Union to recent global financial crises," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 27-47.
    23. Issing, Otmar, 2018. "Stabiles Geld - eine Illusion? Alternative Währungssysteme - Hayeks Fundamentalkritik - Unabhängigkeit der Notenbanken," SAFE White Paper Series 52, Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E5 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit

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