TY  - JOUR
AU  - Buiter,Willem H.
TI  - Negative Nominal Interest Rates: Three ways to overcome the zero lower bound
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 15118
PY  - 2009
Y2  - June 2009
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w15118
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w15118.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Willem H. Buiter
Citigroup Centre
Canada Square, Canary Wharf
London E14 5LB
UNITED KINGDOM
E-Mail: willembuiter@btinternet.com
AB  - The paper considers three methods for eliminating the zero lower bound on nominal interest rates and thus for restoring symmetry to domain over which the central bank can vary its policy rate.  They are: (1) abolishing currency (which would also be a useful crime-fighting measure); (2) paying negative interest on currency by taxing currency; and (3) decoupling the numéraire from the currency/medium of exchange/means of payment and introducing an exchange rate between the numéraire and the currency which can be set to achieve a forward discount (expected depreciation) of the currency vis-a-vis the numéraire when the nominal interest rate in terms of the numéraire is set at a negative level for monetary policy purposes.
ER  -