How The ECB Boosts Inequality And What It Can Do About It

Fontan, Clément, Jourdan, Stanislas, (2017), “How The ECB Boosts Inequality And What It Can Do About It”, Social Europe, 10 May

In its annual report, the European Central Bank clearly acknowledges that its ‘quantitative easing’ (QE) program has increased the richest citizens’ wealth. Yet the ECB claims that this is not its concern. Since the inception of QE in the Eurozone, it has been clear that such a program would not only have limited effects on growth and inflation but would also carry important unintended consequences, including a rise in wealth inequality.

Relevant Posts

• European Central Bank, (2017), “Annual Report 2016”, April 2017
• Huttl, Pia, Goncalves Raposo, Ines, (2017), “An update: Sovereign bond holdings in the euro area – the impact of QE”, Bruegel, 9 March