How Vast Covid Response Remade Central Bank Toolkits

It was unprecedented in the history of central banking: intervention without limits. The pledges this spring by the U.S. Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and some of their counterparts to make a seemingly infinite ocean of money available to fight the disruption caused by the coronavirus marked a dramatic expansion of their traditional role. Central banks became backstops to entire economies. Their swift action calmed financial markets, leading to rebounds in many asset prices. But eve