If a central bank printed money and bought financial assets on a large-enough scale, people would begin to step up their spending. Even if people believed that only a fraction of quantitative easing was permanent, and even if the incentive to spend was low, the central bank could restart the economy.
2007—2008年的冲击没有引发又一场大萧条，这笔功劳要记在伯南克身上。但他在危机后的反应出人意料地令人失望。2000年，伯南克指出，有足够意愿的央行“永远”可以至少在中期通过量化宽松重塑充分繁荣。如果央行印钱并大规模购买金融资产，人们就会开始增加支出。即使人们相信只有一小部分量化宽松是持久的，即使支出激励十分微小，央行也可以让经济重新起步。