Monetary policy implementation: Which "new normal"?

This article provides a simple model of monetary policy implementation, analyzing both the interest rate steering (IRS) and the quantitative easing (QE) policies. The model shows that the “floor system”, introduced with QE policies, is preferable to the traditional “corridor system”, for two reasons. First, it endows central banks with one more degree of freedom, since the interest rate and the balance sheet policies become two independent instruments. Second, it enhances the ability of central banks to keep the money market rates in line with their target level. This second prediction is confirmed by an empirical analysis of the money market in the euro area. Therefore, in the “new normal” monetary policy should be implemented by steering the level of interest rates within a floor system, instead of relying on the corridor system used in the old IRS framework.