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Home News Feeds Economists' Forum Leading economists discuss issues raised by Martin Wolf and others Plan B for Obama on the economy Mr President, With hopes of a V- or U-shaped recovery fading, there is the increasing prospect of an L-shaped future of long stagnation, or even a W-shaped future in which W stands for something worse. The reason for this dismal outlook is economic policy is trapped by failed conventional thinking that can only deliver wage stagnation and prolonged mass unemployment. Assessing Obama: an Indian view Just over 18 months ago, Barack Obama became the first African American man to be sworn in as president of the US, after having won the Democratic party's nomination in June 2008 and then having convincingly defeated his Republican opponent, John McCain, in the November election The Fed should raise rates and lower them too There is much debate over whether the Federal Reserve should tighten or further ease monetary policy. This dichotomous framing overlooks another possibility, which is whether the Fed should change the mix of its stance, tightening in some areas and further easing in others. We need more quantitative easing to prevent another Great Depression: Round 2 There is a widespread perception that quantitative easing is synonymous with increasing the money supply. But it is more than that. Time to introduce minimum downpayments for mortgages It is time to tackle the systemic flaw in housing policy - reliance on leverage ? and introduce minimum downpayment regulations for all homebuyers, writes Charles W. Calomiris Without high leverage the subprime boom and bust could not have happened. Risky no-docs borrowers would have been unwilling to deceive lenders if they had to pledge a [...] We need more quantitative easing to create jobs Update: Read Prof Farmer’s response to readers’ comments By Roger E. A Farmer I argue in this piece that: Quantitative easing should be expanded Even if the Bank of England were to buy the entire UK national debt that this policy would not be inflationary The global recovery is faltering and an expansionary policy is needed to encourage private [...] The next headache: Inflation or deflation? By Richard Robb What should investors in developed countries worry about ? inflation or deflation? Evidence from the past two decades suggests the answer is ?neither.? Progress in monetary policy may have rid the world of price instability once and for all; like smallpox, Germany military aggression or the spread of orthodox Marxism, inflation could well [...] Uncertain times for global economic governance These are uncertain times for global economic governance. For over six decades after the second world war the west framed the rules of engagement for the global economy. In the initial years, the United States was the preeminent power, which oversaw the creation of the Bretton Woods system (International Monetary Fund and World Bank) and the [...] Laurence Kotlikoff replies to Lord Turner: Part 2 Laurence Kotlikoff, economics professor at Boston University, writes an open letter to Lord Turner, chairman of the UK?s financial regulator, the FSA. Lord Turner examines Prof Kotlikoff?s proposal for a radical reform of the institutional structure for credit extension in a new book, The Future of Finance. This is the second [...] Laurence Kotlikoff replies to Lord Turner: Part 1 Laurence Kotlikoff, economics professor at Boston University, writes an open letter to Lord Turner, chairman of the UK’s financial regulator, the FSA. Lord Turner examines Prof Kotlikoff’s proposal for a radical reform of the institutional structure for credit extension in a new book, The Future of Finance. This a two-part open letter; the second part [...]