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Journal Article
Capital Flow Surges and Rising Income Inequality
Surges of foreign investment into developing countries can amplify economic stress and potentially undermine their financial stability. New evidence suggests that excessive foreign capital inflows can also increase income inequality in emerging economies. Research shows that, as low global interest rates trigger more investment, those inflow surges benefit entrepreneurs by raising their returns, while lowering household earnings on bank deposits within the countries. The potential impact on income inequality provides another reason beyond financial stability for resisting abrupt surges in ...
Journal Article
Effects of Asset Valuations on U.S. Wealth Distribution
Net household wealth is highly unequal across U.S. households, and the types of assets people hold tend to change according to their position along the distribution of wealth. The pattern of household portfolios shows that the top 1% of households hold most of their wealth in stocks, while home values are most important for the wealth of the bottom half of the distribution. Higher growth in equity values relative to real estate values therefore tends to widen the wealth distribution, as experienced during the coronavirus pandemic.
Journal Article
Average-Inflation Targeting and the Effective Lower Bound
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Reserve cut the federal funds rate to essentially zero. It took further measures to support the functioning of financial markets and the flow of credit. Nevertheless, the economic downturn is putting downward pressure on inflation, which had already been running below the Fed’s 2% target for several years. This raises additional concerns that inflation expectations could decline and push inflation down further, ultimately hampering economic activity. A monetary policy framework based on average-inflation targeting could help address these ...