Labor & Unemployment
COBOLing together UI benefits
In just one reminder of the extraordinary moment in economic history in which we are living, the central banks of the eurozone, as well as Japan, Switzerland, Denmark, and Sweden, have pushed their lending rates below zero — banks actually have to pay a fee to deposit money at the central bank. In some major countries, Germany and Japan among them, investors pay a fee to lend to the government instead of collecting interest. Once a fantasy of a few academic economists, negative interest rates are now seen as a tool available to monetary policymakers at times of very low inflation. But they remain controversial: are negative rates a prudent and potent response to today’s lackluster economy? Or do they squeeze bank profits and hurt lending, confuse investors and consumers, and smack of desperation?
Today, the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at Brookings is examining the recent experience with negative interest rates, particularly in Europe, and their possible use in the U.S. Participants include prominent economists from European central banks and Wall Street, as well as several academics, and former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, now a distinguished fellow in residence at Brookings.
We will provide a light lunch for event attendees. You can join the conversation and tweet questions for the panelists at #NegativeRates.
Download Signe Krogstrup’s slides »
Download Seth Carpenter’s slides »
Download Jean-Pierre Danthine’s remarks »
Download Jean-Pierre Danthine’s slides »
Download Jamie McAndrews’ slides »
Download Niels Lynggård Hansen’s slides »
Download Alex Roever’s slides »
Download Massimo Rostagno’s slides »
Negative interest rates: Lessons learned...so far - Morning session
Negative interest rates: Lessons learned...so far - Afternoon session
Afternoon Session
Agenda
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June 6
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Morning Session
9:30 am - 12:35 pm
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Overview
Signe Krogstrup Presenter - Assistant Director and Deputy Head of Monetary Policy Analysis, Swiss National Bank
Seth Carpenter Global Chief Economist - Morgan Stanley, Member - Forecasters Club of New York -
Presentation
Jean-Pierre Danthine Swiss National Bank
Jamie McAndrews Discussant - Executive Vice President and Director of Research, Federal Reserve Bank of New York -
Presentation
Niels Lynggård Hansen Presenter - Head of Economics, Danmarks Nationalbank
Alex Roever Discussant - Managing Director, Head of U.S. Interest Rate Strategy, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC -
Paper
Massimo Rostagno Author - Director General, Monetary Policy, European Central Bank
Torsten Slok Discussant - Chief International Economist and Managing Director, Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc. -
Lunch
12:35 pm - 1:45 pm
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Afternoon Session: Negative Rates in the U.S.
1:45 pm - 3:15 pm
Massimo Rostagno Author - Director General, Monetary Policy, European Central Bank
Torsten Slok Discussant - Chief International Economist and Managing Director, Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc. -
Paper
Miles Kimball Author - Professor of Economics, University of Michigan
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Panel Discussion
Ben S. Bernanke Distinguished Senior Fellow - The Brookings Institution, Economic Studies @BenBernanke
Narayana Kocherlakota Lionel W. McKenzie Professor of Economics - University of Rochester, Former President - Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Jamie McAndrews Discussant - Executive Vice President and Director of Research, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Beth Hammack Global Treasurer - Goldman Sachs
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