2008年金融海嘯後各國央行量化寬鬆貨幣政策之比較--以美國、英國、日本為例

Abstract

2008年美國次級房貸違約事件引發全球金融海嘯，國際主要國家之中央銀行紛紛採取傳統寬鬆貨幣政策，調降短期利率以振興經濟、刺激景氣。然而，因名目利率已降至趨近於零，而處於流動性陷阱的情況下，各國央行遂轉而採取大量擴張貨幣基礎之非傳統貨幣政策。例如：美國聯邦準備理事會、英國英格蘭銀行、日本銀行等央行採取一般泛稱為量化寬鬆的貨幣政策，大舉擴充其資產負債表，以電子化方式發行新貨幣，購買政府公債、房貸抵押擔保證券、公司債、商業本票等金融資產，直接注資於經濟體中。此外，央行兼採前瞻指引措施與社會大眾溝通貨幣政策未來可能方向，承諾市場於特定期限內維持相對低的利率水準，藉以達到降低借貸成本、增加市場流動性、提振消費開支等政策目的。觀察各國政府部門所公布的經濟數據，量化寬鬆貨幣政策經由資產組合再平衡等傳導機制，確實發揮一定經濟成效，包括有效降低公債殖利率、推升資產價格、促進就業、維持物價穩定。然而，伴隨量化寬鬆貨幣政策亦產生限縮央行獨立性、造成分配面不公平、損及金融機構健全、引發道德風險等負面結果。因此，有別於傳統貨幣政策理論的量化寬鬆貨幣政策是否能通過現實的考驗仍有待長時間觀察。

The massive defaults of American Subprime Mortgages in 2008 led to a global financial tsunami. In response, Central Banks in major countries adopted conventional easing monetary policies, reducing short-term interest rates in order to stimulate and revive the economy. However, as the nominal interest rate are near the zero bound and became exposed to a liquidity trap, Central Banks then shifted to the application of unconventional monetary policies with expanded monetary bases. For example: Central Banks such as the US Federal Reserve Board, The Bank of England and the Bank of Japan have adopted a monetary policy referred to as "Quantitative Easing (QE)" through creating new money electronically and purchasing financial assets such as government bonds, mortgage-backed securities, corporate bonds, and commercial papers, directly injecting capital into the economy to aggressively expand its balance sheets. In addition, in order to reach the policy goals of reducing borrowing costs, enhancing market liquidity and increasing consumer expenditure, Central Banks also adopted “Forward Guidance” to communicate the future directions of monetary policies to the public, promising to maintain at a relatively low interest rate level for an extended period. As can be observed from the economic figures that various governments have released, QE monetary policies show certain levels of success through their portfolio rebalancing mechanism, including effectively reducing yield rates on government bonds, raising asset prices, promoting employment and maintaining inflation stability. However, QE monetary policies also lead to several negative outcomes, such as the constraint of Central Bank independence, unfairness in allocation, damages to financial institution soundness, and the triggering of moral hazards. Thus, whether unconventional QE monetary policies would survive the test of reality still requires long term observation.