The aim of this thesis is to show how the unconventional monetary policy rounds of Quantitative Easing introduced in the United States between 2008 and 2014 have led to an increase in wealth inequality. The need for the thesis arises due to the uncharted nature of QE and because of more and more information is surfacing to light which points to this connection. By analysing the distribution of these funds and adding it to the then base distribution of money supply, this study was able to determine a significant 10 % increase in the Gini Index. Furthermore it highlights how a large portion of wealth was transferred from the middle class over to the top 5 % income households. Starting from a set of assumptions the calculation is performed by extrapolating the data required and by isolating the system from any external variables. The result is a theoretical model meant to describe the mechanism that links Quantitative Easing to wealth inequality. Moreover a detailed comparison is provided with the effect of a conventional monetary policy such as Open-Market Operations. Finally solutions to this issue are being discussed from economical, political and fiscal standpoints.

Purpose – In recent decades the inflation- and interest rates have followed a long-termdeclining trend. Followed by central banks starting to use unconventional monetary policiesto cope with financial crises have led to increased amounts of liquidity in the financialsystems and available and looking for investment alternatives on the capital markets. At thesame time real estate property prices have set new highs corresponding to a longer-termtrend of declining cap rates. The traditional cap rate formula components the risk-free rateand risk premium less rental growth do not entirely explain the trend of declining cap ratesthat have led to very low cap rates. The purpose with this thesis quantitative study is to testif the newer cap rate determinants money supply and foreign investments percentage of allmarket transactions can explain the decline and recently very low cap rates.Design/Methodology – The master thesis firstly conducts a literature review on previousstudies on cap rate determinants and subsequent conduct an own quantitative study byrunning dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) regression analysis on time series ofStockholm central business district commercial office cap rates and determinants chosen asindependent variables representing macro- and market fundamental factors driving caprates with the addition of money supply proxied by monetary aggregate M3 and foreigninvestments on the market proxied by the foreign share of investments on the Stockholmcommercial office market.Findings – The DOLS regression model (1)-(5) determinants are overall significant androbust. Of the newer cap rate determinants that are tested the monetary aggregate M3 andits included lags are of higher and stronger significance and impact on the cap rate than theforeign investment share. However, the foreign investment share time-series data used inthe study do not entirely correspond to the Stockholm central business district (CBD)commercial office market but rather against the larger Stockholm commercial office marketand hence the foreign investment share is assumed to be a relevant cap rate determinantwith support from studies referred to in the section theoretical framework.Research limitations/implications – To ensure high quality in statistical analysis andhypothesis testing large data samples corresponding to longer time-series data than waspossible to obtain for this thesis quantitative study is required. However, even though arelatively small sample has been used it performed well in tests conducted of the dataquality.Originality/value – The master thesis aims to measure and quantify the impact fromunconventional monetary policy and international real estate investments on commercialoffice cap rates. Executed on the Swedish capital Stockholms CBD office market. / Syfte – De senaste decennierna har inflationen- och räntorna följt en långsiktigtnedåtgående trend. Detta har följts upp av att centralbanker börjat använda okonventionellpenningpolitik för att hantera finanskriser, vilket lett till att en ökad penningmängd i definansiella systemen sökt investeringsmöjligheter på kapitalmarknaderna. Samtidigt harfastighetspriserna satt nya rekord ett flertal gånger vilket motsvarar en långsiktig trend avsjunkande kapitaliseringstakter. Den traditionella modellen för kapitaliseringstakt med riskfriränta och riskpremium med subtraktion av hyrestillväxt förklarar inte helt detta. Syftet meddetta examensarbetes kvantitativa studie är att pröva om de nyare potentielladeterminanterna penningmängd och andelen utländska investeringar kan förklaranedgången och de nyligen väldigt låga kapitaliseringstakterna.Design/Metodik – Examensarbetet börjar med en litteraturstudie inom konceptetkapitaliseringstakt och dess determinanter. Därefter görs en kvantitativ studie med DOLSregressionsanalys av kapitaliseringstakter för kontorsmarknaden i Stockholms centralaaffärsdistrikt och modeller av dess determinanter bestående av makro- ochmarknadsfundamentala faktorer som antas vara drivande för kapitaliseringstakten. Medtillägg av determinanterna penningmängd modellerad med måttet M3 och andelenutländska investeringar modellerad med andelen utländska investeringar påkontorsmarknaden i Stockholm.Undersökningsresultat – Kapitaliseringstakts determinanterna i modellerna (1)-(5) ärövergripande signifikanta och robusta. Av de två nyare determinanterna är penningmängdM3 och dess inkluderade laggade värden av högre och starkare signifikans och med störreinverkan på kapitaliseringstakten än andelen utländska investeringar. Dessvärre motsvararinte tidsserien av andelen utländska investeringar på kontorsmarknaden i Stockholm detmindre segmentet kontorsmarknaden för Stockholms centrala affärsdistrikt och därmedantas den motsvarande andelen utländska investeringar vara signifikant med stöd av tidigarestudier som lyfts fram i litteraturstudien.Begränsningar/implikationer – För att säkerställa hög kvalité på analys av statistik behövsstora stickprov vilket motsvarar data för långa tidsserier, vilket inte var möjligt att erhålla fördetta examensarbetes kvantitativa studie. Positivt är dock ändå att tidsserie data somanvänts, trots att de inte är så långa som önskat, presterat bra i de genomförda testerna avdatakvalitén.

Gegenstand dieser Dissertation ist die Rolle von Finanzmarktfriktionen für internationale Konjunkturzyklen und daraus resultierende Politikimplikationen. Die Analysen basieren auf Zwei-Länder DSGE Modellen mit international agierenden Finanzintermediären. Im ersten Aufsatz wird untersucht, ob der Anteil ausländischer Kapitalanlagen am Bankvermögen eine Rolle für die Übertragung von Schocks zwischen Ländern spielt. Es kann gezeigt werden, das dies von der Art des jeweiligen Schocks abhängt: Ein höherer Anteil ausländischer Kapitalanlagen führt nur dann zu einer höheren Synchronisierung von Konjunkturzyklen wenn letztere durch sogenannte Capital-Quality-Schocks verursacht werden. Im zweiten Aufsatz untersuche ich, ob es wohlfahrtssteigernd ist, unkonventionelle Geldpolitik zur Stabilisierung länderspezifischer Schocks in einer strukturell symmetrischen Währungsunion mit Finanzmarktfriktionen zu verwenden. Es wird gezeigt, das dies nicht immer der Fall ist: Wenn die Politikregeln auf Indikatoren beruhen, die hochkorreliert zwischen den Ländern sind, führen unionsweite Regeln zu höherer Wohlfahrt als länderspezifische. Der dritte Aufsatz liefert eine Erklärung für relativ geringe internationale Risikoteilung, verglichen mit dem was übliche Modelle, basierend auf dem hohen Grad an Finanzmarktintegration, vorhersagen: Ein internationales Portfolio, was von Finanzintermediären anstelle von Haushalten gewählt wurde, führt im gegebenen Modell zu suboptimaler Risikoteilung. / This thesis examines the role of financial frictions for international business cycles and policymaking in open economies. The analyses are based on two-country DSGE models with leverage-constrained financial intermediaries who can extend credit to home and foreign firms. In the first essay, I assess the role of banks’ balance sheet exposure to foreign assets for the cross-country transmission of shocks. It is shown that this role depends on the nature of a particular shock. Balance sheet exposure is essential for global co-movement in the case of capital quality shocks but does not play a decisive role conditional on other types of shocks. In the second essay, I analyze whether it is desirable to use unconventional monetary policy to stabilize country-specific shocks in a monetary union with financial frictions. It is shown that country-specific rules are not necessarily associated with higher welfare from the viewpoint of a structurally symmetric union. In particular, when the indicators of the rules are highly correlated, union-wide rules are preferable. In the third essay, I provide an explanation for the well-known puzzle that international consumption risk-sharing is relatively low compared to what theoretical models would predict given the high level of international financial-market integration. In particular, it is shown that a portfolio chosen by financial intermediaries instead of households does not necessarily yield the highest possible degree of international consumption risk-sharing.

The Diploma thesis deals with unconventional monetary policies,that important central banks used in order to cope with global financial and economic crisis in recent years. Goals of the paper is to introduce the most significant unconventional monetary policies, analyze their effectivity in selected countries (Japan, USA, Great Britain, eurozone and Czech republic), and statistically test impact of these nonstandard approaches on international trade.

This master thesis aims to describe problematics of the effects of unconventional monetary policy, also known as quantitative easing, on economics of USA, Japan, Eurozone and Great Britain, by using empirical analysis of events related to quantitative easing and large BVAR model. In theoretical part of the thesis there are described transmission mechanisms of conventional monetary policy still effective in conditions of interest rates close to zero, as well as channels of unconventional monetary policy. Practical part of the thesis demonstrates analysis of impact of events related to quantitative easing in all the in-scope economics by applying a method of empirical observation of interest rates reactions on every event. Further, based on the received results of the empirical analysis, broader economic effects of quantitative easing are examined by using large BVAR model and afterwards the conclusion is made.

自從2008年全球經濟衰退以來，歐元區經濟顯著的衰退，特別是歐元區各成員國的經濟表現有明顯的差異。在本文中，我們試就成員國「貿易開放程度」和「財政基本面」這兩個重要特徵，來詮釋歐元區經濟穩定這個議題。在第二章中，我們在貿易開放程度不同的國家下，比較貨幣同盟制度與浮動匯率制度對於負向衝擊產生的影響。我們發現當貨幣當局愈重視產出穩定時，相較於浮動匯率制度，貨幣同盟制度將使產出下降的更多。在第三章中，我們將短期私人債券及長期政府債券引入貨幣同盟的兩國DSGE模型。我們推斷，歐洲央行(ECB)的公共部門債券購買計劃（PSPP），對於不同財政狀況的成員國，有著不對稱的總體經濟影響。在第四章中，我們建立貨幣同盟經濟的最適貨幣政策模型。我們發現成員國間經濟差異，將影響貨幣同盟的整體福利水準。相較於傳統零利率最適貨幣政策文獻，本研究的結果顯示不論是權衡或承諾制度，增加公共部門債券購買將緩和貨幣同盟的經濟波動。 / Since the global recession in 2008, the economic performance of the Euro area has declined significantly. In particular, there have been great differences in the economic performance among member states in the Euro area. In this dissertation, we attempt to address the issue of economic stability by focusing on two key features: the trade openness and the fiscal fundamentals among member states. In Chapter 2, we compare the impacts of the adverse shocks on countries with different degrees of openness under the monetary union regime, and our finding shows that the monetary union will result in a greater decline in output if the monetary authority attaches a higher weight to output stabilization. In Chapter 3, we build a two-country DSGE model representing a monetary union with both short-term and long-term government bonds. We deduce that the ECB’s public sector purchase programme (PSPP) has asymmetric macroeconomic effects on member states under different fiscal fundamentals. In Chapter 4, we set up an optimal monetary policy model of a monetary union. We find that the differences in the economic performance of individual member states will influence the union-wide welfare. Comparing our results with classical literature of optimal monetary policy at zero lower bound, by adding the PSPP, our study indeed reflects lower volatility of the union-wide economy under either discretion or commitment.