This commentary summarizes the authors'main points of agreement and disagreement with respect to the proposal written by Dr. Hetzel. The authors agree with Dr. Hetzel's proposal on four points: after a central bank has lowered the interest rate to zero, (1) a central bank is not in fact powerless to stop deflation; (2) it does not make sense to focus on the quantity of the monetary base per se; (3) it is important to influence market expectations if monetary policy is to be effective; and (4) central bank solvency holds some importance. The authors disagree with Dr. Hetzel's proposal on three points: (1) transmission channels of quantitative easing; (2) potential costs and benefits of his proposal; and (3) the timing of introduction of an explicit nominal anchor.
Keywords: Quantitative easing; Deflation
Views expressed in the paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Bank of Japan or Institute for Monetary and Economic Studies.