Can zero or negative interest rates worsen confidence?

When central banks opt for zero or negative interest rates, they send the message that they have a negative view of the future. Could this erode household and corporate confidence? This would be a highly undesirable consequence of zero or negative interest rate policies. In the countries where the central bank has opted for zero or negative key interest rates (euro zone, Switzerland, Sweden, Japan), we examine whether the interest rate cuts lowering them towards these zero or negative levels have worsened household or corporate confidence. We find a decline in confidence following the shift to negative central bank interest rates in Switzerland and Sweden, but not in the euro zone or Japan.