We reconsider several monetary and fiscal policies that have been proposed as tools of stabilization policy when conventional interest-rate policy is constrained by the zero lower bound on interest rates, assuming that households and firms are capable of explicit forward planning over only a limited horizon. The predicted effects of all of the policies are somewhat different than under rational expectations, but credible announcements about future policy can still influence behavior, and there is, if anything, an even stronger case for pursuing systematic policies outside crisis periods in order to shape expectations during a crisis.
Prepared for the Carnegie-Rochester-NYU Conference on Public Policy, "Central Banking in the 2020s and Beyond." The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research. NBER working papers are circulated for discussion and comment purposes. They have not been peer-reviewed or been subject to the review by the NBER Board of Directors that accompanies official NBER publications.
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