Who are the prominent journalists who advocate a different type of QE?
26 April, 2016In a recent post Positive Money showed that there is a strong intellectual body of history behind the various alternative proposals for QE [Insert Link Here]. Both John Maynard Keynes and Milton Friedman proposed a style of Quantitative Easing (QE) that was aimed at the real economy. Today, these types of proposals are commonly referred [...]
Canada and New Zealand performed Public Money Creation (A History of Public Money Creation, Part 8)
20 April, 2016Throughout history, governments have used their ability to create money to fund public spending. While none of these policies were called, “People’s QE”, "Strategic QE", “Sovereign “Money Creation”, or “Helicopter Money” (what Positive Money collectively refers to as Public Money Creation), they shared the common trait of using newly created state money to finance government spending, [...]
The Affordability of UK Housing: Hello Debt for Life…
15 April, 2016New data shows that growth in house prices is outpacing growth in wages. However, reports suggest that low interest-rates are making housing in the UK more affordable. Is housing really more affordable, or are there some missing pieces to this analysis of the UK housing puzzle? House Prices Recent data released by the Office for [...]
Debt Inequalities – A New Report
7 April, 2016The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has released a new report on household debt inequalities between July 2012 and June 2014. While the report is littered with all kinds of interesting data that deals with household debt (outside of mortgages), four points are particularly worth highlighting: Debt burdens continue to fall disproportionately onto the lowest income [...]
BIS Warns of a Global Debt Crisis and a Lack of Policy Response Options: Time to Update the BoE’s Policy Toolkit?
9 March, 2016The Bank for International Settlement (BIS) has just warned that the global economy faces a “gathering storm” brought on by too much borrowing. With high levels of private debt relative to income, increasing financial volatility and poor prospects for growth there are growing concerns about the lack of policy response options available to central banks. [...]
How much debt is too much? When should the Bank of England create new money to finance spending?
9 February, 2016How much debt is too much? When should the Treasury borrow money and when should the Bank of England create new money to finance spending? Total UK household debt is exceptionally high and projected to increase even further. Meanwhile, government debt is also at an all time high. Concerns over these circumstances have prompted Professor Robert Skidelsky of [...]
Not My First Rodeo: Public Money Creation in the USA (A History of Public Money Creation, Part 7)
5 February, 2016Despite popular rhetoric, the World’s biggest economy did use the state’s money creating powers to help boost output. Guess what, it didn’t result in hyperinflation! Throughout history, governments have used their ability to create money to fund public spending. While none of these policies were called, “People’s QE”, "Strategic QE", “Sovereign “Money Creation”, or “Helicopter [...]
No Change in Bank of England Interest Rates: More of the Same???
4 February, 2016For the first time since August 2015, members of the Bank of England’s MPC unanimously voted to maintain the Bank base rate at 0.5%. But why? The Bank of England Mandate and Central Bank Interest Rates According to the Bank of England (BoE), their primary mandate is to deliver price stability – low inflation – [...]
Money Creation for Public in Germany – Moving Beyond Weimar (A History of Public Money Creation, Part 6)
25 January, 2016Many economists have a misunderstanding of what caused hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic. More importantly, many economists have overlooked the times when Public Money Creation was used to successfully grow the German economy. Throughout history, governments have used their ability to create money to fund public spending. While none of these policies were called, “People’s [...]