Penningpolitik och ekonomisk ojämlikhet : Finns ett kausalt samband mellan styrränta och ekonomisk ojämlikhet?

Sammanfattning: Recent decades, growing trends in economic inequality have been observed across the world. While the underlying causes are many, there is a recent and growing field of research discussing the potential effects that changes in policy rates and other kinds of economic policy may have on economic inequality. While results among the existing pool of research varies, there seems to be a common perception that economic policy, and changes in policy rates in particular, does affect economic inequality. By conducting a panel data study of 34 countries over the course of 30 years, this thesis finds significant decreases in economic equality, measured using 3 different inequality measurements, following increases in the policy rate. The effects are similar in magnitude for all inequality measurements, however, due to the estimated effects being extremely small in relation to the context, the economic significance is initially questioned. By further analyzing the effects in terms of standard deviations, the thesis finds that estimated effects are of reasonable magnitude, and thus, the economic significance of the study is confirmed.