Blogs

30 Ways to Be an Economist is INET's grantee interview series - INET grantees talk about how they do their work, and how they came to be doing it. This week: Suresh Naidu - Property Rights and Growth: Lessons from Slavery. Read more

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A money view of SDRs

By Daniel H. Neilson

In a market economy, when you need something, you go out and buy it. Liquidity is no different, in that respect at least. If it is market liquidity that you need, you go to a dealer, who stands ready to buy what you are selling. You pay for the convenience, though—the dealer is getting more for the same asset than you are. If it is funding liquidity that you need, you go to your bank, who stands ready to lend. You pay for the convenience, though—the bank is paying less for its funds than you are. Read more

30 Ways to Be an Economist is INET's grantee interview series - INET grantees talk about how they do their work, and how they came to be doing it. This week: Moritz Schularick: Credit Booms Gone Bust. Read more

From a money view perspective, the central issue is settlement of TARGET balances between national central banks within the Eurozone, and the key is to understand TARGET balances as a kind of interbank correspondent balance.  What I want to suggest is that the ECB's Long Term Refinance Operation can help settle the troublesome TARGET balance overhang.

"Not long ago, the principal theories of economics appeared to be the secular religion of society. Today, economics is a discipline in disrepute. It’s as if our ship of state broke from its stable mooring and unexpectedly slammed into the rocks. How could things have gone so spectacularly wrong? And what can be done to repair economics so economists can play a productive role in helping society?" Read more

Fund managers cannot possibly know what the future will bring, yet they have to commit today to holding assets that promise a return tomorrow. Such a commitment requires confidence -- confidence that is hard to find in the face of uncertainty. To cope with the uncertainty, fund managers rely on gut feelings and invent stories that justify their decisions. In the end, it is stories and emotions that drive financial markets. That is, in a nutshell, the theory of asset pricing developed by David Tuckett. Read more

We are pleased to announce the program of INET's annual plenary conference in Berlin. Over 100 scholars, journalists, and policy makers will participate in the conference entitled "Paradigm Lost: Rethinking Economics and Politics." All sessions will be filmed and uploaded to the web. Visit this page to explore the full conference program, and find the sessions below. Read more

By Daniel H. Neilson

The current account still matters, but other things do too, and maybe more. In light of recent focus on gross flows, here and elsewhere, I want to argue for the language of the balance of payments. This language has a quaint feel to it, and my sense is that economists view it as archaic and outmoded. I am certain, at least, that one can get through grad school with no fluency in it. Read more

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