Economic assets can be classified into two broad categories: those earning an inherent return and those earning a fiat money return. This article shows that both are valued according to the same general principle based on GDP (a constant equal to expected long term real per capita GDP growth)...

With its interest rate instrument at the zero lower bound, the Federal Open Market Committee has turned to unconventional methods to stimulate economic growth and increase employment. Prominent among these is quantitative easing (QE) — the purchase of a large quantity of longer-term debt....

We use a DSGE model that generates endogenous movements in risk premia to examine the positive and normative implications of alternative monetary policy rules. As emphasized by the micro-finance literature, variation in risk arises because households face fixed costs of transferring cash across...

We analyze optimal monetary policy and its implications for asset prices, when aggregate demand has inertia and responds to asset prices with a lag. If there is a negative output gap, the central bank optimally overshoots aggregate asset prices (asset prices are initially pushed above their...

Investors who arbitrage between long term government debt and corporate debt expand the Portfolio Balance Channel in that the effects of QE spill over to the overall cost of corporate borrowing. I find that overall the Federal Reserve's second round of Large-Scale Asset Purchases (LSAPII) boosts...

We propose a model that delivers endogenous variations in term spreads driven primarily by banks’ portfolio decision and their appetite to bear the risk of maturity transformation. We first show that fluctuations of the future profitability of banks’ portfolios affect their ability to cover...

We propose a model that delivers endogenous variations in term spreads driven primarily by banks' portfolio decision and their appetite to bear the risk of maturity transformation. We first show that fluctuations of the future profitability of banks' portfolios affect their ability to cover for...

We propose a model that delivers endogenous variations in term spreads driven by banks' portfolio decision while facing the risk of maturity transformation. First, we show that fluctuations of the future profitability of banks' portfolios affect their ability to cover for any liquidity needs and...

This paper presents a portfolio model of asset price effects arising from large-scale asset purchases by central banks — commonly known as quantitative easing (QE). Two financial frictions, segmentation of the market for central bank reserves and imperfect asset substitutability, give rise to...

Currently, many monetary and fiscal policy measures are aimed at preventing the financial market meltdown that started in the US subprime sector and has spread worldwide as a great recession. Although some slow recovery appears to be on the horizon, it is worthwhile exploring the fragility and...