I frowned the first time somebody introduced me as an ‘economist’. After all, I don’t have a piece of paper that says I’m an economist. But upon reflection I realized that it was true. In effect, I had indeed become an economist. How did that happen? Continue reading “How I became an economist”
Tag: economics
Central banking analogies
Economists are fond of analogies to describe technical ideas.
Most of those analogies are confusing and/or useless. As I wrote in the introduction of Bankers are people, too:
Economists and journalists writing for lay audiences tend to use metaphors when explaining financial concepts. For example: ‘Cheap credit is like heroin. It’s addictive, and the economy can overdose from it.’ That may sound nice, but what does it even mean?
Grazie mille, dottore Draghi!
ECB President Mario Draghi has answered a number of questions from the public. People could tweet #AskDraghi to join.
I’m honored that the ECB also picked one of mine 🙂
Will #AI and #robots cost many workers their jobs? Hear Mario Draghi explain how we can benefit from new technology and what should be done to respond to job losses. Interesting question, @JanMusschoot, thanks! https://t.co/hJXA7MdPbq #AskDraghi #ECBYouthDialogue @debatingeurope pic.twitter.com/Z70bF2JLcP
— European Central Bank (@ecb) February 14, 2018
The website Debating Europe has listed all the replies of Dr. Draghi.
I only wish the ECB President would have responded to this question as well 😀
Have you read #BankersArePeopleToo? #AskDraghi
— Jan Musschoot (@JanMusschoot) January 23, 2018
The Magic of Money
This is a review of a book written over 50 years ago by a central banker.
Based on that introduction, even most finance geeks will probably think “boring!” or “irrelevant!”. Until you learn it has Nazis, hyperinflation and the Nuremberg trials in it. And those are not even the interesting parts. Continue reading “The Magic of Money”
Negative rates: a massive transfer from savers to bank shareholders and governments with little impact on economic growth. (Post in response to Miles Kimball)
This post explores the consequences of deeply negative interest rates set by the ECB, as proposed by professor Miles Kimball. It’s a shorter version of my previous post, plus an estimation of the economic stimulus of the proposal. Continue reading “Negative rates: a massive transfer from savers to bank shareholders and governments with little impact on economic growth. (Post in response to Miles Kimball)”
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”
Two publication cultures: economics versus physics
In a recent blog post, professor Roger Farmer comments on the publishing process in economics. He writes that economic journal publishing is “a process that is highly centralised around five leading journals. These are the American Economic Review, the Quarterly Journal of Economics, the Review of Economic Studies, Econometrica and the Journal of Political Economy. For a young newly appointed lecturer, publishing a paper in one of these top five journals is a pre-requisite for promotion in a leading economic department […]” Continue reading “Two publication cultures: economics versus physics”
Bankers are people, too
My book is published!
Do you think banking is too hard for you? Are you convinced that all bankers are crooks? Would you like to follow the financial news, but you always get stuck on terms like derivatives, cryptocurrency or quantitative easing?
Then I have some good news. Continue reading “Bankers are people, too”
Should central banks have an Independent Evaluation Office?
Should the European Central Bank (ECB) have an independent evaluation office (IEO)? Benjamin Braun recently asked this question on Twitter.
What do #centralbanking people think re independent evaluation offices? @bankofengland has one. Should @ecb have one?https://t.co/vxVsioaZ1r
— Benjamin Braun (@BJMbraun) June 27, 2017
My first reaction was: probably not, because the ECB already evaluates its past performance. However, after more thought, I have changed my mind. This post examines some recent failures of central banks; how an IEO could improve monetary policy going forward2; and what it would take for the IEO to be an effective department rather than a paper tiger. Continue reading “Should central banks have an Independent Evaluation Office?”
My favorite finance and economics podcasts
Podcasts – radio shows you can download – are a great medium when you’re driving, in the gym, or cooking dinner.
Here is my current top four podcasts that deal with money and economics in general. For each series, I’ve picked one episode that I enjoyed a lot. Continue reading “My favorite finance and economics podcasts”