Carrot or stick? The Lonergan-Kimball debate

Update 1, 12/12/2017: Prof. Kimball replied on Twitter. I have added his remarks just before the discussion section.

Update 2, 12/12/2017: See my follow-up post with more details on the distributional and stimulative effects of deeply negative ECB rates.

Central banks around the developed world have been struggling to meet their inflation targets. Economists are divided on what the Fed, the ECB or the Bank of Japan should do.

Massive amounts of quantitative easing have proven to be ineffective at boosting inflation. Some economists have proposed that central banks raise inflation expectations.

At the 5th Bruegel – Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University conference1, Eric Lonergan and professor Miles Kimball advocated their preferred solutions: helicopter money and deep negative interest rates, respectively. Continue reading “Carrot or stick? The Lonergan-Kimball debate”

Books on money and banking: a classification

Let’s say you want to read a book about money and banking. What options do you have?

As it turns out, quite a few. Here’s my classification of the literature into six broad themes. The discussion is limited to books that deal with banking and the monetary system. I don’t cover the popular genre of personal finance books that tell the reader how to invest or how to minimize taxes. The books mentioned in this post are illustrations of categories. They should not be interpreted as endorsements. Continue reading “Books on money and banking: a classification”

GDPR: geen ver-van-mijn-bed-show

Heb jij al gehoord van GDPR, de General Data Protection Regulation?

Je leest soms dat data de nieuwe olie is. Technologiebedrijven als Facebook en Google gebruiken onze gegevens als grondstof om er geld mee te verdienen. Maar er zijn heel veel bedrijven en organisaties die persoonlijke zaken van ons weten. Denk maar aan de school van je kinderen, de winkel waar je een klantenkaart hebt, je bank of gewoonweg je werkgever. Continue reading “GDPR: geen ver-van-mijn-bed-show”

Three news stories

I wrote Bankers are people, too to help non-economists put the financial news into perspective.

Three recent news stories were no surprise to readers of my book.

  • Articles about the Paradise Papers showed how global elites hide their wealth in tax havens.

I covered previous leaks in the chapter ‘Tax evasion and offshore services’ (p. 100).

Continue reading “Three news stories”

Bitcoiners vinden het warm water uit

Bitcoin is een digitale munt. In tegenstelling tot (supra)nationale valuta zoals de euro, dollar of yen wordt bitcoin niet gecontroleerd door een centrale bank. Iedereen met voldoende computerkracht kan bitcoins bijmaken. Het is echter in het systeem geprogrammeerd dat de uiteindelijke hoeveelheid bitcoins eindig is. Continue reading “Bitcoiners vinden het warm water uit”

Green infrastructure bonds with macro strings attached: How the ECB could fulfill its mandate by fighting climate change

This is the paper I submitted to the Central Banking and Green Finance workshop organized by the Council on Economic Policies (CEP) and De Nederlandsche Bank. I wrote it to stimulate a discussion about how central banks can contribute to the fight against climate change. The text does not necessarily reflect my personal opinion. Continue reading “Green infrastructure bonds with macro strings attached: How the ECB could fulfill its mandate by fighting climate change”

Bankiers zonder geld

Banken bieden allerlei elektronische betaalmiddelen aan. Sommige bankiers rekenen erop dat ze overal met hun smartphone kunnen betalen. Maar zonder cash komen ze wel eens in de problemen.

Geert Gielens, de hoofdeconoom van Belfius, in De Tijd: “Ik stoor me eraan als ik ergens niet elektronisch kan betalen, want ik heb nog amper cash op zak.” Continue reading “Bankiers zonder geld”

“Bankers are people, too”: why that title?

Several readers have asked me why I called my book Bankers are people, too: How finance works.

It sure wasn’t the working title, which was Money, Banks, and Power. The working title reflected the role of politics and regulation in real-life banking. A realistic description of the financial sector cannot neglect the world outside banks. Continue reading ““Bankers are people, too”: why that title?”

Preparing physics students for 21st-century careers

Are universities teaching physics students the things they need to succeed in the real world? The vast majority of physicists don’t work as physics professors. Jobs outside of physics departments often require skills that are less important for an academic career.

In Physics Today (open access during November 2017), professors Laurie McNeil and Paula Heron discuss how universities can teach relevant business skills, without neglecting the physics curriculum. Based on statistical data and interviews, they show that there is much room for improvement. Continue reading “Preparing physics students for 21st-century careers”