Redesigning monetary policy
We need a modern monetary policy (MMP). Policy needs redesigning for three fundamental reasons:
Firstly, the mental models for thinking about how the macro-economy in the developed world works have been brok...
More on post-interest rate monetary policy
Accounting objections to cash transfers don’t add up, and if CBs bought equity they could reduce inequality
There is growing recognition - most recently by Janet Yellen - that should another recession strike...
Functional finance and fiscal rules – a synthesis (Part II)
Introduction
A curious argument has broken out over the Labour’s proposed fiscal rule. Some advocates of functional finance, in particular, have been vociferous in their criticisms. There is scope for a consid...
Central bank ‘equity’ debunked
The equity of a corporation is the difference between its assets and liabilities. Under typical accounting practice for central banks, transferring cash directly to households would result in a decline in their...
Raising rates is a stimulus
There are two broad categories of monetary policy instrument: 1) measures which are aimed at influencing market interest rates, and 2) transfers from the central bank to the private sector.
‘Conventional’ m...
More on Bitcoin (Part I)
Bitcoin proves that the 'interest' paid by central banks on bank reserves (IOR) is not an "interest rate" but a helicopter drop to banks. Imagine that Bitcoin came with an additional feature, that all holders o...
Intelligent money & valuing Bitcoin
The most significant innovation in Bitcoin is not blockchain, nor the fact that it is a non-state-backed electronic currency. It is truly ground-breaking because it is the first 'intelligent' money. An 'intelli...
The case for a new economics
What’s really wrong with NAIRU
Earlier this year, Matthew Klein at FT’s Alphaville, made a typically punchy and well-argued case for abandoning a cornerstone of the current macro policy framework - the NAIRU...
Has the Bank of Japan solved the ‘Piketty problem’?
Japan’s unlikely re-distribution
Why is the Bank of Japan (BoJ) trying to raise the rate of inflation? Taking account of its demographic profile, Japan's economic performance has been impressive by developed w...
Blogoff – The Curse of Cash
Rogoff's law - the opposite is usually true
Punning on Kenneth Rogoff's surname is proving irresistible. He has just launched a new economics blog, which should prove rich in thought-provoking missives. Conf...