Fiscal Policy Archives - Lion and Palm Tree

Can’t we just print more money?

Book Review: Rupal Patel and Jack Meaning, ‘Can’t we just print more money – Economics in ten simple questions’, Cornerstone Press, London, May 2022.

The facade of the Bank of England. Edited from a photo by Samuel Regan-Asante on Unsplash

Introduction

The Bank of England is the first central bank to carry out the set of functions which are today associated with a central bank. It is not the oldest, an honour which goes to the Riksbank established in 1668. After its establishment in 1694 as an issuer of currency and as a government bank, the Bank of England started adding functions over the years. It was only in the second half of the 19^th century, when it became a lender of last resort, that the Bank of England came to be acknowledged and regarded as a central bank. Continue reading “Can’t we just print more money?”

“Pandemic depression”: The way ahead

In the October/November 2020 issue of Foreign Affairs, Carmen Reinhart of the World Bank and Vincent Reinhart, Chief Economist for BNY Mellon Asset Management, have this article on “The Pandemic Depression: The Global Economy Will Never Be the Same.” They cite various data to justify the expression. Bank of England had predicted the steepest decline for UK since 1706. The unemployment figures in the US are the worst since the Bureau of Labor Statistics has had data on it. The World Trade Organization estimated that global trade is poised to fall by between 13 and 32 percent in 2020. And the World Bank had predicted that the global economy would shrink by 5.2 per cent in 2020, and that 60 million people will be pushed into extreme poverty as a result of the pandemic. Continue reading ““Pandemic depression”: The way ahead”

Covid-19: An induced coma for the global economy

Speaking at the UBS High-level Discussion on the Economic and Monetary Policy Outlook, held in Zurich on 27 May 2020, Agustín Carstens, General Manager, Bank for International Settlements, discussed the economic impact of Covid-19, and policy response of advanced economies’ central banks. Continue reading “Covid-19: An induced coma for the global economy”

Philip Lowe on Australia’s response to the pandemic

Philip Lowe, Governor of Reserve Bank of Australia since 2016, in his speech on 24 April 2020, gave an update on the economic and financial condition in Australia in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. Continue reading “Philip Lowe on Australia’s response to the pandemic”