Central Banking and Inequalities: Taking Off the Blinders

Fontan, Clément, Claveau, François et Peter Dietsch (2016), Central Banking and Inequalities: Taking Off the Blinders, Politics, Philosophy & Economics 15 (4): 319-357.

What is the relation between monetary policy and inequalities in income and wealth? This question has received insufficient attention, especially in light of the unconventional policies introduced since the 2008 financial crisis. The paper analyses three ways in which the concern central banks show for inequalities in their official statements remains incomplete and underdeveloped.
First, central banks tend to care about inequality for instrumental reasons only. When they do assign intrinsic value to containing inequalities, they shy away from trade-offs with the standard objectives of monetary policy that such a position entails. Second, central banks play down the causal impact monetary policy has on inequalities. When they do acknowledge it, they defend their actions by claiming that it is an unintended side effect, that it is temporary, and/or that any alternative policy would fare even worse. The paper appeals to the doctrine of double effect to criticise these arguments. Third, even if one accepts that inequalities should be contained and that today’s monetary policies exacerbate them, is it both desirable and feasible to make containing inequalities part of the mandate of central banks? The paper analyses and rejects three attempts on the part of central banks to answer this question negatively.

Ce contenu a été mis à jour le 6 décembre 2016 à 16 h 04 min.