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The Balance Sheet and the Future of Fed Policy

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Abstract

The size of the Fed’s balance sheet has almost quadrupled since 2007, and the composition of the balance sheet has changed in important ways, with regard to both assets and liabilities. This short paper asseses the implications for how monetary policy works, and the entailed risks. The size of the balance sheet and its composition may not matter economically, but there are significant political risks. The political risk-taking may make monetary policy choices more difficult than they would otherwise be.

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Notes

  1. 1 See http://www.frbservices.org/operations/fedwire/fedwire_funds_services_statistics.html

References

  • Carpenter S, Ihrig J, Klee E, Quinn D, Boote A (2013) The federal reserve’s balance sheet and earnings: a primer and projections. Working paper, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

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Correspondence to Stephen D. Williamson.

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The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect official positions of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the Federal Reserve System, or the Board of Governors.

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Williamson, S.D. The Balance Sheet and the Future of Fed Policy. Open Econ Rev 25, 163–170 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11079-013-9302-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11079-013-9302-8

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