The Best of Brexit
The Best of Brexit
Perhaps the best thing to have come out of Brexit has been the writing. So here is a collection of my personal favourites. There are serious omissions - so feel free to suggest additions i...
Monetary policy: transparency or obfuscation?
We live in a era where monetary policy is more transparent than ever - if measured by press conferences, publication of minutes and individual policy-makers forecasts.
At the same time, the behaviour of cent...
A brief reply to Paul Krugman on policy equivalence, h/t Brad DeLong
Brad DeLong has revived an old piece by Paul Krugman on helicopter money (HM), which is correct in one sense, but I also think completely misses the point.
Cutting to the chase, I recently attended a very au...
Fiscal policy: a brief reply to Duncan Weldon
Duncan Weldon has written a very perceptive blog, arguing that helicopter money is ‘a solution in search of a problem’ - what we really need is effective fiscal policy. In one sense, Duncan is spot on. A smart ...
There are two types of negative interest rates
One works, the other doesn't
Central banks typically alter monetary policy through the price of credit (interest rates) and the provision of credit (usually lending to banks against collateral). Central banks...
Old myths, new problems – interpreting a British referendum
The myth of national identity
One consequence of the end of the Cold War was the re-emergence of nationalism in European politics. It was not the “End of History”, but reversion to the mean.
Nationalism is...
Bored by Borio
Claudio Borio, and his colleagues, incinerate a straw man. Helicopter money - sensibly defined - does not involve any new commitments about future monetary policy. So Borio's arguments are not even relevant.
...
Helicopter money is different
The discussion of helicopter money may have moved from the periphery of the policy debate to its centre. Unfortunately, analytical confusion seems correlated with interest levels.
Keynes once remarked that w...
Bernanke’s four errors
I am a huge fan of Ben Bernanke. He can take a significant amount of personal credit for preventing a depression. Also, The Courage to Act is a superb book.
Disappointingly, Ben’s latest contribution to the ...