The FEDs monetary policies during the COVID-19 pandemic and their redistributive effect

  • Julius Clemens Kierse (Student)

Student thesis: Master's Thesis

Abstract

Triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank implemented historically drastic monetary policies not only to ensure smooth and functioning market operations but also as a means to enable the U.S government to hand out fiscal relief packages worth trillions. Therefore, it is interesting to see if these monetary, fiscal, and regulatory interventions had a significant redistributive effect. For that, official market data and monetary data from the Federal Reserve of St. Louis were evaluated and analysed with the application of the theory of the Cantillon effect. While the Cantillon effect holds up, the different indicators show a redistributive effect but of which, not all can be explained by the Cantillon effect. It appears that the high PCE inflation is instead a mixture of shortages and fiscal spending, while the asset price inflation is where the Cantillon effect can easily be recognised today.
Date of Award9 Nov 2022
Original languageEnglish
Awarding Institution
  • Universidade Católica Portuguesa
SupervisorAndré Azevedo Alves (Supervisor)

Keywords

  • Monetary policy
  • FED
  • Inflation
  • Redistribution
  • Cantillon effect

Designation

  • Mestrado em Governação, Liderança e Estudos sobre a Democracia

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