Since the global financial crisis in 2008, many central banks around the world have used asset purchases when conducting monetary policy. In the euro area, for example, asset purchases were actively used in 13 out of the past 15 years. In response to the post-pandemic surge in inflation, most central banks stopped net purchases and started to reduce their bond holdings. As this process is unfolding, it is now a good time to start reflecting on the experience of using asset purchases and to evaluate their benefits and costs by drawing on the growing body of research on their effects on financial markets and the ... (full story)