Meaning & use
monetary stimulus
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Meaning
noununcountablebusinessfinance
Actions by a central bank to increase the money supply and encourage spending, such as lowering interest rates.
Grammar: Uncountable; used with 'the' or no article. Often preceded by 'of' or followed by 'to'.
Patterns
- monetary stimulus from something
- provide monetary stimulus
- a dose of monetary stimulus
The central bank introduced monetary stimulus to boost the economy.
Economists debate how much monetary stimulus is needed to fight a recession.
Lowering interest rates is a common form of monetary stimulus.
Common combinations
- provide monetary stimulus
- The Fed provided monetary stimulus by buying government bonds.
- additional monetary stimulus
- Some officials called for additional monetary stimulus.
- monetary stimulus measures
- The government announced new monetary stimulus measures.
- withdraw monetary stimulus
- As the economy recovered, the bank began to withdraw monetary stimulus.
Synonyms and how they differ
- quantitative easing
- A specific type of monetary stimulus where the central bank buys assets; more technical and narrower in meaning.
- easy money policy
- Informal term for a central bank policy that increases money supply; less formal than 'monetary stimulus'.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: monetary stimulus or fiscal stimulus?
monetary stimulus vs fiscal stimulus
Fiscal stimulus refers to government spending or tax cuts, while monetary stimulus is done by a central bank through interest rates or money supply.
Practice
Which of the following is an example of monetary stimulus?
Choose one answer.
Monetary stimulus is carried out by a central bank, typically by lowering interest rates. The other options are fiscal measures taken by the government.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “monetary stimulus”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.