The actions by the European Central Bank (ECB) during the global and European crises have triggered a highly controversial debate, in particular in Germany, about the costs and benefits of the chosen policy path. The article reviews, compares, and evaluates the different arguments made in favor...

Sooner or later, the ECB must accept that monetary financing in support of deficit spending is a necessity not just for mitigating the coronavirus crisis, but also for averting a downward deflationary cycle that could pull the eurozone apart.

The ECB has announced that when government and corporate bonds come to maturity in the context of its QE-program, new bonds will be bought in the market so as to keep the money stock (money base) unchanged. This creates a "window of opportunities" for the ECB. It could replace the old bonds with...

Die Europäische Zentralbank hat im Juni 2014 ihren Einlagezinssatz erstmals in den negativen Bereich gesenkt. Seitdem ist er in mehreren Stufen bis auf heute −0,5 % gesunken. Banken haben dadurch zunehmend Probleme, ihre Einlagen ohne großes Risiko und nominalen Wertverlust anzulegen. Der...