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Outside the Box: Unconventional Monetary Policy in the Great Recession and Beyond

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This paper provides an overview of unconventional monetary policy as implemented by the U.S. Federal Reserve after the global financial crisis. First, it reviews the key features of the Fed’s Quantitative Easing and Forward Guidance policies. Second, it discusses the mechanisms through which the two policies may have affected financial markets, institutions, and the overall economy. Third, it surveys the evidence on the policies’ financial and economic impacts. Fourth, it considers some of the policies’ unintended side effects. The paper concludes with some thoughts on how unconventional monetary policy might be used in the future.

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  • Kenneth N. Kuttner, 2018. "Outside the Box: Unconventional Monetary Policy in the Great Recession and Beyond," Department of Economics Working Papers 2018-04, Department of Economics, Williams College.
    • Handle: RePEc:wil:wileco:2018-04
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    1. Stefania D’Amico & William English & David López‐Salido & Edward Nelson, 2012. "The Federal Reserve's Large‐scale Asset Purchase Programmes: Rationale and Effects," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 122(564), pages 415-446, November.
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    7. Jing Cynthia Wu & Fan Dora Xia, 2016. "Measuring the Macroeconomic Impact of Monetary Policy at the Zero Lower Bound," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 48(2-3), pages 253-291, March.
    8. D’Amico, Stefania & King, Thomas B., 2013. "Flow and stock effects of large-scale treasury purchases: Evidence on the importance of local supply," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(2), pages 425-448.
    9. James D. Hamilton & Jing Cynthia Wu, 2012. "The Effectiveness of Alternative Monetary Policy Tools in a Zero Lower Bound Environment," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 44(s1), pages 3-46, February.
    10. Neely, Christopher J., 2015. "Unconventional monetary policy had large international effects," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 101-111.
    11. Foley-Fisher, Nathan & Ramcharan, Rodney & Yu, Edison, 2016. "The impact of unconventional monetary policy on firm financing constraints: Evidence from the maturity extension program," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 122(2), pages 409-429.
    12. Michael D. Bauer & Glenn D. Rudebusch, 2014. "The Signaling Channel for Federal Reserve Bond Purchases," International Journal of Central Banking, International Journal of Central Banking, vol. 10(3), pages 233-289, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Roberto Vincenzi, 2025. "Voluntary disclosures and monetary policy: evidence from quantitative easing," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 30(1), pages 650-701, March.
    2. Maciej Stefański, 2023. "Quantitative Easing During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Country Study," KAE Working Papers 2023-088, Warsaw School of Economics, Collegium of Economic Analysis.
    3. Benjamin Baker & Murat Üngör, 2025. "Effects of Quantitative Easing on Economic Sentiment: Evidence from Three Large Economies," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 67(1), pages 50-83, March.

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