Thursday , August 13 2026
Home / Thomas Palley: Economics for Democratic and Open Societies / Negative interest rate policy (NIRP) and the fallacy of the natural rate of interest: Why NIRP may worsen Keynesian unemployment

Negative interest rate policy (NIRP) and the fallacy of the natural rate of interest: Why NIRP may worsen Keynesian unemployment

Summary:
NIRP has quickly become a consensus policy within the economics establishment. This paper argues that consensus is dangerously wrong, resting on flawed theory and flawed policy assessment. Regarding theory, NIRP draws on fallacious pre-Keynesian classical economic logic that asserts there is a natural rate of interest which can ensure full employment. That pre-Keynesian logic has ...

Topics:
Thomas Palley considers the following as important:

This could be interesting, too:

tom writes The best explanation of the Epstein saga: an Israeli asset who helped twist regional relations and the peace process against Palestine

tom writes Argentina’s labor reform: back to the past

tom writes Happy holidays and all the best in 2026 (…..and f**k Trump, Starmer, Netanyahu, and Milei…. and that’s the ultra-short list)

tom writes The environmental crisis is driven by class interest

NIRP has quickly become a consensus policy within the economics establishment. This paper argues that consensus is dangerously wrong, resting on flawed theory and flawed policy assessment. Regarding theory, NIRP draws on fallacious pre-Keynesian classical economic logic that asserts there is a natural rate of interest which can ensure full employment. That pre-Keynesian logic has [...]
Thomas Palley
Dr. Thomas Palley is an economist living in Washington DC. He holds a B.A. degree from Oxford University, and a M.A. degree in International Relations and Ph.D. in Economics, both from Yale University.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *