Rethinking Economic Principles: Join the Debate

Posted on May 2, 2011 by iMFdirect

By iMFdirect

The global financial crisis caused immense hardship and suffering all over the world. To prevent a repeat, we need to rethink…

… what we know about economic theory …. We need to rethink, following this, the policies … coming from the analytical work. And then we will need also to rethink multilateralism.

IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn (April 16, 2011)

A wholesale reexamination of macroeconomic principles in the wake of the crisis was the goal of a conference at the IMF in early March.

But, for Olivier Blanchard and others, the conference was merely “the beginning of a conversation, the beginning of an exploration.”

Here is our list of recommended reads to help you be part of the conversation. (more…)

Filed under: Economic Crisis, Economic research, International Monetary Fund | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 7 Comments »

Who’s Talking About the Future of Macroeconomic Policies

Posted on April 5, 2011 by iMFdirect

By iMFdirect

Open, wide-ranging, and balanced discussion. For Olivier Blanchard—and co-hosts David Romer, Michael Spence & Joseph Stiglitz—that was the goal of last month’s conference at the IMF on the future of macroeconomic policies after the global financial crisis. And it is exactly what they got.

The crisis was a wakeup call for theorists and policymakers… Economic models, policy tools, and how they are applied need to catch up with changes in the global economic and financial system.

 You’ve heard here about views from the conference, but there’s plenty of discussion going on outside the IMF. Here’s a snapshot…. (more…)

Filed under: Economic research, International Monetary Fund | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Observations on the Evolution of Economic Policies

Posted on March 25, 2011 by iMFdirect

Guest post by Michael Spence, New York University,
Professor Emeritus Stanford University, and
co-host of the Conference on Macro and Growth Policies in the Wake of the Crisis

It was a privilege to participate in the IMF conference devoted to rethinking policy frameworks in the wake of the crisis. Highly encouraging was the openness of the discussion, the range of views, the willingness to question orthodoxy, and the posture of humility.

One gets the impression that the crisis has triggered a response that it should trigger, and we have embarked on a path of rethinking conceptual frameworks and policy choices in a way that will contribute to the stability of the system.

That said, the good news is that we recognize that in finance and parts of macroeconomics the models or frameworks are incomplete. That represents a challenge to the academic community. But it also means that, in the short run, participants and regulators will be operating with incomplete models. This will require judgments (which will be uncomfortable in contrast to the earlier sense of certainty). There will be mistakes. And, as Olivier Blanchard said in his excellent summary, we will proceed step-by-step, evaluating the impacts of policy choices and sometimes reversing course. (more…)

Filed under: Economic Crisis, Economic research, International Monetary Fund | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments »

A Balanced Debate About Reforming Macroeconomics

Posted on March 22, 2011 by iMFdirect

Guest post by Joseph E. Stiglitz, Columbia University, and
co-host of the Conference on Macro and Growth Policies in the Wake of the Crisis

The most remarkable aspect of the recent conference at the IMF was the broad consensus that the macroeconomic models that had been relied upon in the past and had informed major aspects of monetary and macro-policy had failed. They failed to predict the crisis; standard models even said bubbles couldn’t exist—markets were efficient. Even after the bubble broke, they said the effects would be contained. Even after it was clear that the effects were not “contained,” they provided limited guidance on how the economy should respond. Maintaining low and stable inflation did not ensure real economic stability. The crisis was “man-made.” While in standard models, shocks were exogenous, here, they were endogenous. (more…)

Filed under: Economic Crisis, Economic research, Financial Crisis, International Monetary Fund | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments »

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