Theory & Other Problems Archives - Page 3 of 5

Fiscal subservience – a reply to Chris Sims

16th September 2016

Definitions of Money, Helicopter Money, Monetary Policy, Money in Europe, Theory & Other Problems

Chris Sims is a deeply thoughtful economist and his paper at the recent Jackson Hole conference has rightly received a lot of attention, notably from Gavyn Davies, in the FT, and Paul Krugman. It is simultan...

There is no r*

Eric Lonergan

13th September 2016

Monetary Policy, Theory & Other Problems, Uncategorised

Like many economists, I have been trapped into thinking that there is an equilibrium real rate of interest - a level of the policy rate consistent with stable inflation, a closed output gap, or full employment....

There is no shortage of safe assets – a short proof

Eric Lonergan

23rd August 2016

Definitions of Money, Finance & Asset Pricing, Theory & Other Problems

Safe assets are bunds, treasuries, gilts, JGBs and other government bonds issued by large developed economies. In one sense, they actually are ‘safe’ assets. They are typically negatively correlated with risk a...

Institutions matter

Eric Lonergan

21st August 2016

Definitions of Money, Economic History, Helicopter Money, Monetary Policy, Money in Europe, Theory & Other Problems

13

The monetary & fiscal distinction revisited Monetary policy involves changes in the supply of base money and is carried out by central banks. Fiscal policy involves taxation, spending and transfers carried o...

Eight pitfalls to avoid in the helicopter money debate

Eric Lonergan

19th August 2016

Definitions of Money, Helicopter Money, Monetary Policy, Money in Europe, Theory & Other Problems

15

Learn first, then teach Professors Stephen Cecchetti and Kermit Schoenholtz are the latest to opine on the subject of helicopter money. It is worth quoting from their opening paragraphs, it frees me up to re...

Monetary policy: transparency or obfuscation?

Eric Lonergan

5th August 2016

Helicopter Money, Monetary Policy, Money in Europe, Theory & Other Problems

1

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...

Helicopter money is different

Eric Lonergan

24th May 2016

Definitions of Money, Helicopter Money, Monetary Policy, Theory & Other Problems

31

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

Eric Lonergan

12th April 2016

Definitions of Money, Helicopter Money, Monetary Policy, Money in Europe, Theory & Other Problems

11

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 ...

Buffett v the Landesbank – the US gets paid to have a trade deficit

Eric Lonergan

26th March 2016

Economic History, Finance & Asset Pricing, Theory & Other Problems

28

It remains conventional wisdom that the US current account deficit is the accumulation of a debt that will one day need to be repaid. There are very good reasons to believe this is false. The US in fact has ne...

Nothing is permanent

Eric Lonergan

5th March 2016

Monetary Policy, Theory & Other Problems

14

To borrow a disparaging phrase from Paul Krugman, the concept of 'permanence' in economics seems “to have a special ability to create intellectual confusion, even in smart people.” Personally, I don't reall...

Fiscal subservience – a reply to Chris Sims

There is no r*

There is no shortage of safe assets – a short proof

Institutions matter

Eight pitfalls to avoid in the helicopter money debate

Monetary policy: transparency or obfuscation?

Helicopter money is different

Bernanke’s four errors

Buffett v the Landesbank – the US gets paid to have a trade deficit

Nothing is permanent

Reviews of Eric’s book

CNBC: market sell-off is ‘noise’

Monetary policy & babysitting: why rates are so low, and ‘what’s next?’