Suchergebnisse

Depression and Protectionism considers the case of the oldest advocate of free trade and its greatest exponent, Britain, and examines the developments that led to the reversal of that policy in the 1930s. It also discusses the consequences of the protectionst policy for the domestic economy. * Discusses the most important debate in international economics* Using an explicit economic framework, the book examines the economic origins of the industrial tariff in Britain

AbstractThe Bank of England's emergence as a central bank was the end of a long process that began soon after its founding in the late seventeenth century and continued until the third quarter of the nineteenth century. Its current two core principles emerged at different times. Monetary stability came first, a consequence of its responsibility for the gold standard. Financial stability followed in the course of the nineteenth century as the Bank slowly acquired the role of lender of last resort. Its mandate was a consequence of the two‐way relationship with government and some external forces.

AbstractThe authors argue, using historical examples from finance, the production of wine and music, that competition within the rule of law, without government regulation, produces desirable outcomes.

Central Bankers are currently facing big challenges in designing and implementing monetary policy, as well as with safeguarding financial stability, with the world economy still in the process of digesting the legacy of the crisis. The crisis has changed central banking in many ways: by shifting the focus of monetary policy from fighting too high inflation towards fighting too low inflation; by prompting new 'experimental' non-conventional measures, which risk to cause large, long-lasting market distortions and imbalances and which also have more far-reaching distributional consequences than 'normal, conventional' monetary policy; and by broadening central banks' responsibilities particularly in the direction of safeguarding banking stability and financial stability at large. This raises several questions for the future: How long will ultra-easy monetary policies last? What are post-crisis growth trajectories, and how will the natural rate of interest rates evolve? How could an exit from ultra-easy monetary policy and a return towards higher nominal interest rates be eventually managed smoothly? Does ultra-easy monetary policy itself affect the economy in a lasting and structural way? Is the pre-crisis economic paradigm governing monetary policy still valid? If not, in what ways should it be adjusted? Are there any reasonable and practical alternatives? Against this background and given the larger post-crisis range of central banks' responsibilities: is the current institutional set-up governing central banks and their relationship to government, Parliament and the financial system still appropriate? What adaptations might be considered? Would they bring an improvement or, on the contrary, a set-back to the unsuccessful policy approaches of the 1960s and 1970s? To discuss these issues, on 14 April 2016 the Baffi Carefin Center (Bocconi University) hosted a SUERF Conference. This introductory chapter aims to provide a framework for the various contributions in this book, and also summarizes some main ideas from later chapters for an overview.