ZIRP (Zero Interest Rate Policy)

“ZIRP” (or “Zirp”) stands for “Zero Interest Rate Policy.” The Bank of Japan used ZIRP in 1999-2000, and the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States used ZIRP in 2008, during the financial crisis. In August 2011—after stock market declines—the Fed announced ZIRP for another 24 months. The purpose of ZIRP is to get money into circulation and to fight deflation.
 
Paul Krugman, an economist who writes for the New York (NY) Times, used the term “ZIRP” on August 13, 2000, and in many other columns and blog posts. However, “ZIRP” began to be popularly used during the financial crisis of 2008.
 
A “ZIRP forever” policy has been called “ZIRP4EVA” since at least November 2009.
 
“NIRP” (Negative Interest Rate Policy) was coined in 2008.
       
   
Wikipedia: Zero interest rate policy
The zero interest rate policy (ZIRP) is a macroeconomic concept describing conditions with a very low interest rate, such as contemporary Japan and, since December 16, 2008, the United States. It can be associated with slow economic growth.
 
Under ZIRP, the central bank maintains a 0% nominal interest rate. The ZIRP is an important milestone in monetary policy because the central bank is no longer able to reduce nominal interest rates. Many economists believe that monetary policy becomes ineffective under ZIRP, because the central bank has no more tools left to stimulate borrowing. ZIRP is very closely related to the problem of a liquidity trap, where nominal interest rates cannot adjust downward at a time when the loanable funds market has not cleared.
   
New York (NY) Times
Reckonings; End Of The ZIRP
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: August 13, 2000
We interrupt America’s political silly season to bring you a special bulletin: something important and disturbing just happened in Japan.
 
O.K., I admit that it doesn’t look important, especially to Americans. So what if last Friday the Bank of Japan finally ended its ‘‘zero interest rate policy’’ (yes, ZIRP)?
   
Google Groups: alt.politics.economics
Newsgroups: alt.politics.economics
From: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) (JHogan2359)
Date: 15 Aug 2000 01:33:37 GMT
Local: Mon, Aug 14 2000 8:33 pm
Subject: Re: The Republicans didn’t raise The Important Issues
 
Then why was Japan not successful in “igniting” inflation with its “ZIRP” (Zero interest rate policy), which, BTW, was the subject of your hero, Paul Krugman’s, last article.
   
Google Books
How Do Central Banks Talk?
By Alan Blinder
London: Centre for Economic Policy Research
2001
Pg. 80:
Then, in February 1999, the BoJ announced that it would guide the overnight call rate “as low as possible,” and in April it stated that it would maintain that policy “until deflationary concerns are dispelled.” That policy, dubbed the zero interest rate policy or ZIRP, was maintained until July 2000 when the target call rate was raised to 25 basis points.
       
Mish’s Global Economic Trend Analysis
Thursday, October 30, 2008 6:19 PM
ZIRP Coming To Fed?
The Fed did not want to cut the Fed Funds Rate below 2%. And because Congress recently granted authority for the Fed to pay interest on reserves, Bernanke thought incorrectly that he could keep rates above 2%. So much for that academic theory. Now many are wondering if ZIRP (Zero Interest Rate Policy) is coming to the Fed.
 
FT Alphaville
Globally zirped
Posted by Tracy Alloway on Nov 13, 2008 13:38.
Zil. Zilch. Zirp.
 
Zirp is an acronym for zero per cent interest rates. It’s a term that’s starting to appear in mainstream bank notes, as well as financial blogs, and not just for localised countries, but globally.
 
NYTimes.com—The Conscience of a Liberal by Paul Krugman
December 16, 2008, 2:47 pm
ZIRP!
That’s zero interest rate policy. And it has arrived. America has turned Japanese.
 
This is the thing I’ve been afraid of ever since I realized that Japan really was in the dreaded, possibly mythical liquidity trap.
     
NYTimes.com—The Conscience of a Liberal by Paul Krugman
January 15, 2011, 11:18 am
ZIRP and ZMP
(...)
And I’ve been warning about a protracted liquidity trap, in which even a zero interest rate policy (ZIRP) isn’t enough to raise demand sufficiently, for more than a decade.

And yet a number of economists seem determined to find some kind of supply-side explanation for low employment. Via Scott Sumner, I see that Tyler Cowen has been suggesting that workers are unemployed because there’s literally nothing they can do — that they have a zero marginal product. I also gather that this is what the Austrians are saying these days.
 
Zero Hedge
On Perpetual ZIRP
Submitted by Bruce Krasting on 08/09/2011 17:37 -0400
I had this to say last week:
The Fed could easily attempt to buy some market peace by issuing a statement that the policy of zero interest rates would be extended for a minimum period of one year. I consider this to be a “high probability” to happen in the next 30 days.
 
I got it right, but I got it completely wrong. I feared that the Fed could extend the ZIRP language for as long as a year. Not in my wildest dream did I think they could take the extremely risky move of guaranteeing that interest rates will remain at zero for another 24 months.