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Monetary policy is the macroeconomic policy laid down by the central bank.

It involves management of money


supply and interest rate and is the demand side economic policy used by the government of a country to achieve
macroeconomic objectives like inflation,consumption, growth and liquidity.
Monetary policy consists of the actions of a central bank, currency board or other regulatory committee that
determine the size and rate of growth of the money supply, which in turn affects interest rates. Monetary policy
is maintained through actions such as modifying the interest rate, buying or selling government bonds, and
changing the amount of money banks are required to keep in the vault (bank reserves).

Monetary policy is not the same as fiscal policy, which is carried out through government spending and
taxation.
To understand monetary policy, it is important to understand a bit about the Federal Reserve, which is
the central bank of the United States.
The Federal Reserve is a bank for banks. It has several branches around the U.S. hold deposits for and
lend to banks. As a means of ensuring the safety of the nation's financial institutions, the Federal Reserve
requires banks to keep a strict percentage of their deposits on reserve at a Federal Reserve bank. The
Federal Reserve determines the appropriate percentage, called the reserve requirement. If a bank is
unable to meet its reserve requirement, it can borrow from the Federal Reserve to meet the requirement.
The interest rate on these funds is called the discount rate. (Banks can also borrow the excess reserves of
other banks, and this interest rate, called the federal funds rate, is determined by the open market. The
Federal Reserve works to keep the discount rate close to the federal funds rate.)
Now, let's assume that policymakers feel employment is too low and interest rates are too high. The
Federal Reserve could enact expansionary monetary policy and encourage economic growth by doing one
or all of these three things:
Direct the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) to purchase U.S. Treasuries on the open
market
Lower the reserve requirement
Lower the discount rate
Each of these choices increases the supply of money and creates a chain reaction. For example, when the
FOMC (an agent of the Federal Reserve) purchases U.S. Treasuries in the open market, it gives money to
the sellers. The sellers deposit these payments at their local banks. The banks then lend most of these new
deposits to other bank customers and earn interest. These customers in turn deposit the loan proceeds in
themit own bank accounts, and the process continues indefinitely. Thus, every dollar of securities that the
Federal Reserve buys increases the money supply by several dollars. This in turn lowers the lending rate
as
there
is
more
supply
of
loanable monies,
thus
encouraging
growth.
Likewise, if the Federal Reserve lowers the reserve requirement, more of a bank's deposits become
available for lending. This increase in the supply of available funds lowers the price of those funds (i.e., the
lending rate), making debt cheaper and more enticing to borrowers. With money being cheaper to borrow,
individuals and companies are more likely to take out loans to build and improve, thereby growing
the economy.

Additionally, if the Federal Reserve lowers the discount rate, it becomes cheaper for banks to borrow
money from the Fed, thus making it cheaper to lend to customers. This leads to the same outcome as both
purchasing
Treasuries
and
lowering
the
reserve
requirement.
Now consider what would happen if policymakers felt employment was too high and interest rates were too
low. This may sound attractive, but it is a recipe for runaway inflation. If the Federal Reserve wants to
encourage an economic slowdown (that is, implement restrictive monetary policy), it can do one or all of
these three things:
Direct the FOMC to sell U.S. Treasuries on the open market
Raise the reserve requirement
Raise the discount rate
When the FOMC offers Treasury securities for sale, it bids up interest rates in order to entice investors, who
take money out of their bank accounts to buy the Treasuries. This leaves less money in the banking
system, which means banks have less money to lend. With less money to lend, the price (that is, the
interest rate) on the remaining loanable funds increases, which in turn makes car loans, mortgages,
and credit card purchases more expensive. This slows down demand and lowers prices across the
economy.
If the Federal Reserve increases the reserve requirement (which leaves less of a bank's deposits available
for lending) or increases the discount rate (which makes it more expensive for banks to borrow money from
the Federal Reserve, thus making it less lucrative to borrow money to lend to customers), it compounds the
slow-down effects.
Economists measure the effectiveness of monetary policy by its influence on inflation, employment, and
industrial production. Most economists agree that because monetary policy often takes several months or
even several years before the effects are felt, policy action is not something that should be taken in
response to current, short-term economic conditions.
One should note that monetary policy also has a global reach, in addition to its domestic effects. When the
Federal Reserve's actions result in lower interest rates, this makes domestic bonds less attractive than
bonds issued in countries with higher working capitals. Therefore, money tends to flow out of the U.S. and
into these other countries. This causes demand for and thus the value of American dollars to fall in relation
to other currencies, which makes the prices of American goods seem cheaper to foreign purchasers. This
encourages them to import more American goods, raising the balance of trade. At the same time, improved
demand from foreign sources causes more U.S. businesses to borrow money to expand, and this in turn
leads to more jobs.
Examples: expansionary monetary policy are decreases in the discount rate, purchases of government
securities and reductions in the reserve ratio. All of these options have the same purpose to expand the
country's money supply.

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