Woodford’s Theories Rooted in Japan Slump

The Federal Reserve is buying mortgage-backed securities and has stated it will keep interest rates low until unemployment falls. The Bank of Canada under Mark Carney likewise made an explicit promise about how long rates would be held down, and Carney is now bringing this practice to the Bank of England. The European Central Bank, led by Mario Draghi, has refined how it communicates its interest-rate intentions.

There’s a pattern here, Bloomberg Markets magazine will report in its October special issue on the 50 Most Influential people in global finance. Key central banks, faced with subpar growth and little room for further rate cuts, are embracing the research of one man: Columbia University economist Michael Woodford.