Controversy Over The Interest Rate Theory And Policy. Classical Approach To Interest Rate And Its Continuations

Interest rate policy is one of the oldest and at the same time most controversial tools with which central bank affects the economy. In fact, it comes down to the central bank initiated changes in the levels of the so-called official interest rates (discount rate, rediscount rate, lombard rate, and others) or influencing the market interest rates through open market operations. A frequent paradox which appears in the historical approach to interest rates is questioning of the causative role of interest rate changes introduced by central banks with reference to dynamics of the so-called real sphere as well as frequent use of this stabilization instrument. In the last few decades, several turnabouts occurred in economic policies (especially, monetary policies) of the industrialized countries.