Monetary System

While JPMorgan's Loan to deposit ratio is particularly low, the bank is by no means unique. LTD in the US is at the lows not seen in decades. On an absolute basis the gap between deposits and loans is now at some $2.4 trillion and growing.…

The ECB's dovish forward guidance is clear and does not lack the doubts seen in the UK, or to a less extent, the US. However, in an usual occurrence overnight rates (EONIA) has moved above the refi rate (25 bp), when it should be trading…

The ‘shadow banking’ sector is a loose title given to the financial sector that exists outside the regulatory perimeter but mimics some structures and functions of banks. This column introduces a new CEPR Policy Insight that looks into what…

Yesterday, after some intense industry pressure, US regulators (OCC, FDIC, SEC, etc.) collectively announced that the bulk of the so-called TruPS CDO securities issued prior to May 19, 2010 will be exempt from the Volcker Rule. Let's take a…

The argument that unemployment happens when wages fail to adjust sufficiently to changed market dynamics is a well-aired one. But explanations of "sticky wages" tend to focus on structural rigidities such as employment protection…

Loan growth in the US continues to slow. Credit expansion is certainly not nearly as bad as what has transpired in the Eurozone, but the slowing trend is unmistakable. The current rate of loan growth is now significantly below the nominal…

Larry Sum­mers’ take on sec­u­lar stag­na­tion looks like it will be the flavour of the month for Amer­i­can econ­o­mists for the fore­see­able future, I have to take it more seri­ously. Hence this more serious post for my first column in…

We need to abandon the Loanable Funds model of lending, which treats banks as “mere intermediaries” and therefore ignores them in macroeconomics. the Neoclassical belief in Loanable Funds is the biggest barrier there is to the development…

Godley shows that under all scenarios, debt/gdp stabilises at some combination of interest rate, growth rate and primary deficit/surplus - provided there is full employment. So debt/gdp does not "spiral out of control" if government…

Standard macroeconomic theory did not help foresee the crisis, nor has it helped understand it or craft solutions. This columns argues that both the New Classical and New Keynesian complete markets macroeconomic theories not only did not…