Q & A: Pacific Beat— U.S. and Europe Central Banks Announce Major Policy Changes

Sumner La Croix, Blogs, Economy

1. BOTH THE U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE AND THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK MADE BIG POLICY COMMITMENTS LAST WEEK. WHAT DID THE FED DO?

The U.S. Federal Reserve launched a program known in the media as “QE3”. The 
program involves Fed purchase of long-term bonds and is designed to bring down
 long-term interest rates. The program announced last week is the Fed’s third round
of purchasing long-term bonds, thus the name “QE3”.

QE1/2/3 represent big changes in the way that the Federal Reserve usually 
operates, as the Fed typically focuses on reducing or short-term interest rates. 
However, short-term interest rates have been close to zero now for 4 years, so the 
Federal Reserve is focusing instead on reducing long-term interest rates.

Studies of the effects of QE1 and QE2 show that they have been effective in reducing
 long-term interest rates. And lower long-term rates reduce the cost to firms of
investing in new plants and equipment and reduce the cost to consumers of buying
 homes. This should lead to more firm and consumer spending and economics
 growth.

2. BUT NOT ALL ECONOMISTS AND POLITICIANS HAVE BEEN ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT QE3 …

The Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, compared the QE3 program to
a “sugar high” and repeated his desire to replace the Fed’s chair, Ben Bernanke.

Some politicians and economists have questioned whether a third round of bond
 buying will be effective in lowering long-term rates, while others are worried that 
the monetary stimulus will reignite inflation.

Others, including myself, tend to believe that QE3 is needed given the lingering high
unemployment in the United States but is likely to generate only modest increases 
in economic growth.

3. WHAT DID THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK ANNOUNCE?

Mario Draghi, the President of the European Central Bank, announced late last week
 that the Bank would buy bonds of several struggling European countries—Spain,
Portugal, and Italy. The Bank’s very ambitious goal is to put a cap on the interest 
rates paid by these governments on their debt and to ensure that all three countries 
remain in the euro zone.

Since Mr. Draghi’s announcement, global stock markets have rallied and bond
 markets have calmed considerably.

The Bank’s bond-buying program is, however, conditional on governments 
requesting the Bank to buy its bonds and on those governments showing progress 
in implementing new rounds of fiscal and regulatory reforms.

4. SO WILL THIS NEW PROGRAM OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK WORK?

It’s a big bold commitment that is exactly what is needed. This is a policy that the
 Bank should have implemented much earlier in the euro crisis. Mr. Draghi
 deserves much credit for the strong leadership that he has exhibited in getting all 
major European leaders to support the Bank’s new commitments.

But here’s where we stand now in both the U.S. and Europe: Both the U.S. and European monetary authorities have made big ambitious policy commitments. Now it’s up to European parliaments and the U.S. Congress to follow through with critical reforms to financial markets and banks, labor markets, regulations affecting businesses, and overall fiscal policy. Monetary policy alone is just not powerful enough to ignite strong growth needed to bring Europe and the United States surging back to full employment.

– Sumner La Croix