Nevertheless, we need to be aware that there are distributional consequences of our actions – and these may well be particularly significant at times of exceptionally low interest rates and non-standard measures. It seems clear that there are different effects on different parts of society. There is no clear evidence whether standard monetary policy has a dampening or intensifying effect on economic inequality.
Non-conventional monetary policy however, in particular large scale asset purchases, seem to widen income inequality, although this is challenging to quantify. Still, a central bank with a clear mandate to safeguard price stability needs to act forcefully when push comes to shove. These distributional side-effects then need to be tolerated. But they clearly should not last too long.