It’s hard to add much to the debate over whether or not the Bank of England (BoE) should cut its key interest rate, currently just 0.1%, below zero. The case against negative interest rates has been well made by David Smith, Liam Halligan and Peter Warburton, among many others, including MPC veterans such as Andrew … Continue reading Is there any case for negative interest rates?
Category: UK economy
Fiscal and monetary policies in a time of Covid
Here’s a presentation I gave on 19th October (to A-level economics and business students) on fiscal and monetary policies in the UK, covering topics such as the impact of Covid on the public finances, whether taxes will have to rise to pay for it, whether the BoE should ease further, the pros and cons of … Continue reading Fiscal and monetary policies in a time of Covid
Should we devalue the pound?
The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) often hosts debates in the form of short blogs where two economists respond either 'yes' or 'no' to a topical question. Here's a recent exchange between John Mills and myself. The hit to the UK economy and the public finances from the pandemic and the persistent weakness of both … Continue reading Should we devalue the pound?
“The digital economy in a time of Covid”
In case of interest, here's a presentation I made on 1st October to students of economics and finance on "The digital economy in a time of Covid". It covers topics such as the growth of online retail, zero-hours contracts, the pros and cons of homeworking - and why Amazon apparently pays so little tax... digital-economy-covid-oct-2020Download
Plain-speaking Economics 