Future imperfect after coronavirus
The authorities, like most of the rest of us, have been caught short by the sudden advent of the coronavirus pandemic, and are rightly rushing to...
Opinion Pieces
The coronavirus crisis is no 2008
Many comparisons have been made between the coronavirus crisis and the global systemic crisis in 2008. This column argues that seen through the lens...
Artificial intelligence as a central banker
Artificial intelligence, such as the Bank of England Bot, is set to take over an increasing number of central bank functions. This column argues that...
Banks and government bonds: A love story
European banks have been criticised for holding too much domestic government debt during the recent euro area crisis, intensifying the doom loop...
Dollars or Pence? Choosing a framework for US-China trade
Given that China is a strategic and economic rival to the US, the Trump administration’s framework for US-China trade makes far more sense than one...
Systemic consequences of outsourcing to the cloud
Financial institutions are increasingly outsourcing information technology to the cloud, motivated by efficiency, security, and cost. This column...
The dissonance of the short and long term
The type of risk we most care about is long-term, what happens over years or decades, but we tend to manage that risk over short periods. This column...
Central banks and reputation risk
As central banks accumulate ever more job functions, their reputation risk increases. This column offers a cautionary tale from Iceland where, after...
Financial crises and the dynamics of financial de-liberalisation
Financial crises play a key role in changing existing policies concerning financial markets and institutions. This column provides new evidence for...
The wealth effect: The middle class and the changing politics of banking crises
The accumulation of mass financialised wealth has transformed the politics of banking crises. This column shows that the rising wealth of the middle...
Lending cycles and real outcomes: Costs of political misalignment
Government ownership of banks can help solve credit market failures and stabilise the supply of credit over the business cycle. However, it can also...
Cryptocurrencies: Financial stability and fairness
Cryptocurrencies are primarily held today for speculative reasons and see little economic use outside of that. This column argues that if private...
The hierarchy of financial policies
Financial policy is determined in multiple domains by separate government authorities. This column explores the hierarchical ranking of these domains...
Which numerical computing language is best: Julia, MATLAB, Python or R?
Julia, MATLAB, Python and R are among the most commonly used numerical programming languages by economic researchers. In this post, Jon Danielsson and...
Cryptocurrencies are lousy investments
Are cryptocurrencies the future of money, Ponzi schemes, speculators’ dreams, or just a prosperity gospel? While there is money to be made in the...
Cryptocurrencies
Are cryptocurrencies the future of money, Ponzi schemes, speculators dream, freedom or just a cult?
