During the global crisis central banks were accused of undertaking unconventional measures that some commentators claimed went beyond their mandate. This article focuses on central banks intervening in the money markets as a middle man. It argues that such actions can be welfare improving, but are unlikely to be fiscally neutral, thus raising questions about whether they should be left to a central bank.

What do you think? Do you think that the unconventional measures taken by some banks go beyond their mandate? Let us know in the comments box below.

A working paper version of the full article is now available for you to read below as well as an executive summary of the article written by the authors, Dr Max Bruche and Javier Suarez, Professor of Banking and Finance at CEMFI.

The final version of this paper has been published in the The Journal of Monetary Economics.