ECONOMICS (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -Monetary policy is a set of tools used by a nation’s central bank to control the overall money supply and promote economic growth and employ strategies such as revising interest rates and changing bank reserve requirements.

Detailed explanation-2: -The Federal Reserve conducts the nation’s monetary policy by managing the level of short-term interest rates and influencing the availability and cost of credit in the economy. Monetary policy directly affects interest rates; it indirectly affects stock prices, wealth, and currency exchange rates.

Detailed explanation-3: -The primary tools that the Fed uses are interest rate setting and open market operations (OMO). The Fed can also change the mandated reserves requirements for commercial banks or rescue failing banks as lender of last resort, among other less common tools.

Detailed explanation-4: -The Fed uses three primary tools in managing the money supply and pursuing stable economic growth. The tools are (1) reserve requirements, (2) the discount rate, and (3) open market operations. Each of these impacts the money supply in different ways and can be used to contract or expand the economy.

Detailed explanation-5: -The Fed controls the supply of money by increas-ing or decreasing the monetary base. The monetary base is related to the size of the Fed’s balance sheet; specifically, it is currency in circulation plus the deposit balances that depository institutions hold with the Federal Reserve.