In less than two years, negative interest rates have moved from the abstract realms of economic theory into the mainstream of monetary policymaking. The experiment under way in the eurozone, Japan and some smaller European economies has shown that the practical obstacles to taking rates below zero are not as large as once imagined. Proponents say the policy — intended to encourage consumers to spend and banks to lend more to the real economy — has saved the eurozone from sinking into disastrous deflation. But the evidence for this remains tentative. Meanwhile, negative rates are undeniably unpopular, and the longer they remain in place the greater the risk of unintended consequences.
還不到兩年，負利率就從抽象的經濟理論領域進入了貨幣政策制定的主流。歐元區、日本和歐洲更小經濟體正在進行的實驗已表明，把利率壓低至負數的實際障礙，沒有人們之前想像的那麼大。支持者表示，該政策——旨在鼓勵消費者花錢、鼓勵銀行向實體經濟發放更多貸款——已拯救了歐元區，使之沒有跌入災難性通縮。但仍沒有決定性證據能夠證明這一點。另一方面，負利率無疑是不受歡迎的，負利率執行時間越長，帶來意外後果的風險也越大。