We argue that the issuance of central bank reserves per se can matter for the effectof central bank large-scale asset purchases-commonly known as quantitative easing- on long-term interest rates. This effect is independent of the assets purchased, and runs through a reserve-induced portfolio...

Nominal interest rates fell to record-low levels globally in the decades prior to the pandemic. Five economies, Denmark, the euro area, Switzerland, Sweden and Japan, stand out by having adopted negative interest rate policies (NIRP). In this paper, we document that these economies have high...