Global Economy Lecture 2025
Save the dateNegative Rates and the Effective Lower Bound
The Global Economy Lecture 2025 which is jointly organized by the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB) and The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw).
Speaker
Silvana Tenreyro, FBA, CBE
Professor of Economics
London School of Economics and Political Science
Introduction
Martin Kocher
Designated Governor of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank
Chair
Robert Stehrer
Scientific Director
The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw)
Silvana Tenreyro is professor at the London School of Economics, renowned for her work in macroeconomics, international economics, and monetary policy. She obtained her master and PhD in Economics from Harvard University, served on the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee from 2017 to 2023, and was president of the European Economic Association from 2021 to 2022. She has also held positions at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and the Bank of Mauritius, and has received several prestigious honors, including the Yrjö Jahnsson Award, the Carl Menger Prize in Monetary Economics and the Excellence Award on Economic Affairs.
Abstract
As inflation falls back and policy interest rates are reduced, central banks in many advanced economies may have to confront again the question of where the effective lower bound (ELB) on policy rates lies and the appropriateness of different monetary policy tools, including negative (nominal) interest rates. In the first era of negative rates before the Covid pandemic, no clear consensus on their effectiveness emerged. In this lecture, Prof. Tenreyro will bring together empirical findings, insights from theoretical models of the ELB, and real-life concerns of monetary policy makers about possible side effects on the banking system. Overall, while negative rates pose some practical challenges, the body of analytical work suggests that they should be effective monetary policy tools over a reasonable range, particularly so in small open economies and in economies where market-based finance plays an important role in credit intermediation.
Date
Wednesday, November 5, 2025, 16.00 - 17.30 CET
Venue
Oesterreichische Nationalbank, Veranstaltungssaal
Otto-Wagner-Platz 3, 1090 Vienna
and online via Webex
Please register by October 29, 2025, at the latest.