The Federal Reserve implements its monetary policy objectives by intervening in the interbank market for overnight loans. In particular, it aims to change the supply of reserves available to commercial banks so that the (average) interest rate in this market equals an announced target rate. A...

Payment of interest on banks' reserves has long been an important subject of discussion in monetary policy forums. Recent legislation that allows the U.S. Federal Reserve to pay interest on reserves starting in 2011 has made these issues especially timely. By studying a simple model of the...

If monetary policy succeeds in keeping average inflation very low, nominal interest rates may occasionally be constrained by the zero lower bound. The degree to which this constraint has real implications depends on the monetary policy feedback rule and the structure of price-setting. Policy...

Does the zero bound on nominal interest rates constitute an argument against low inflation? The Federal Reserve implements monetary policy with nominal interest rates, which tend to be low when inflation is low. However, in an optimizing model with staggered price setting, the zero bound does...