Meyer, Laurence

While both respecifications [suggested by Reifschneider and Williams] improve the performance of the economy during periods subject to the zero nominal bound, they raise a question about the credibility of the commitment implied by the rule. In particular, the effectiveness of such a commitment hinges directly on the ability of the central bank's promise of future actions (perhaps several years into the future) to influence the public's expectations today. In such a case, transparency may offer an important benefit. In particular, if workers, firms, and investors can be convinced through public statements that an unusual situation calls for unusual action, the central bank's ability to affect expectations about its future policy--when the promised future policy is different from its normal conduct--may be enhanced.