It is nearly eight years since the financial crisis that led to the Great Recession, and many central banks have used aggressive monetary policies to stimulate economic recovery. Are stimulus programs working?It is nearly eight years since the financial crisis that led to the Great Recession, and yet by any measurement the global economy is still sputtering. The signs of this are everywhere: slow or no growth of developed economies; the fiscal woes of key developing economies such as Brazil and Russia; slowing Chinese economic growth; unusually low inflation that in some cases teeters on the brink of deflation; falling stock markets and sinking currencies; renewed concerns about the health of large commercial banks; and slow growth in emplo...