Securitisation involves changing loans into tradeable bonds. Securitisation can increase the liquidity of banks and enable banks to engage in more lending than previously. Securitisation was a factor in the credit crunch because it enabled banks to lend more than usual. When there was a shortage of credit in the banking system, banks became over-exposed …
In a previous post, we saw how bank lending in the UK fell during the credit crunch, contributing to the length and depth of the recession. Because of this the Bank of England and Government have sought to try and increase bank lending – in order to help stimulate economic growth. Fall in bank lending. …
Economic defeatism is a situation where policy makers accept an economic situation which is well below potential. Another form of defeatism is to see some problems as intractable and concentrate on dealing with side issues. Economic defeatism is contagious because it can set the tone for the whole economy, making it even more difficult to …
Internal Devaluation – where a country seeks to regain competitiveness through lowering wage costs and increasing productivity and not reducing the value of the exchange rate. A devaluation of the currency is a decision to allow a currency, in a fixed or semi-fixed exchange rate, to decrease in value. Devaluing the currency means that the …
Readers Question: I am also interested in Marxist economics and they seem to say the 2007-2008 crisis was a result of over-financialisation of the economy, and that investors/owners could not squeeze surplus out of other sectors in the economy as they once could. Financialisation of an economy refers to the situation where the finance sector …
I spent the last two weeks in New York, hence the lack of blogging. Fortunately or unfortunately, it meant I missed the last two weeks of discussion surrounding the legacy of Mrs Thatcher. Of course, in America, it was all a bit more black and white. – Mrs Thatcher good, Arthur Scargill bad (well America …
Readers question: Why is the stock market peaking when the economy is doing badly? There is an old saying that the stock market has predicted 10 out of the last three recessions. Similarly, you could argue the stock market has been predicting several recent economic recoveries which haven’t really materialised. How to explain why the …
The great moderation refers to a period of economic stability characterised by low inflation, positive economic growth, and the belief that the boom and bust cycle had been overcome. In retrospect, economists look back on the great moderation in a different light because although inflation was low, there was great volatility in financial markets and …