Analýza dopadů kvantitativního uvolňování

This bachelor’s thesis examines the effects of quantitative easing (QE) as an unconventional monetary policy tool on selected macroeconomic and financial variables in the United States, the euro area, and Japan. The aim is to empirically verify whether the expansion of central bank balance sheets (Fed, ECB, BoJ) is measurably related to changes in inflation, real GDP, unemployment, and long-term interest rates in the period following the introduction of QE in each region. For Japan, the analysis covers a longer time span extending before the global financial crisis, while for the euro area the period begins only after the launch of asset purchase programs. The empirical strategy employs vector autoregression models with impulse responses and panel regression with fixed effects for the euro area. Monthly and weekly series are aggregated to quarterly frequency as needed, and the analysis is supplemented by standard diagnostic tests. The findings indicate that QE immediately and significantly compresses ten-year government bond yields, especially in the United States and the euro area, while the impact on the price level and real activity is delayed and more moderate. The effect on unemployment is not robust. In Japan, the financial (equity) channel plays a more prominent role, while achieving persistently higher inflation remains challenging. The results highlight the context-dependent nature of QE’s effects and point to related risks (asset price overvaluation, uneven distributional impacts). The added value of this thesis lies in the unified comparison of three monetary areas within a common methodological framework, revealing different transmission channels and suggesting that for more sustainable real effects, coordination with fiscal policy is desirable.