Ann Pettifor

Bank of England

Osborne: Speaking truth to wealth and power? Really?

George Osborne was presumably aiming at himself and his friends, when he vowed “to speak truth to power and wealth” at the Tory party conference this week, but dare he speak economic truth to the rest of us? – simultaneously published on Left Foot Forward > On the narrowest of bases, he might still claim […]

Osborne: Speaking truth to wealth and power? Really? Read More »

What a financial tailspin may mean for you and me

Wall Street plummeted as concerns over European debt and the US economic downturn spurred a broad sell-off. Photograph: Shen Hong/Xinhua Press/Corbis Read my article from Guardian Cif, Friday 19th August: As bank shares and stock markets plummet, and investors flock to the safety of government bonds; as obstinate EU leaders crucify their countries in a

What a financial tailspin may mean for you and me Read More »

Eight fallacies in the LSE Keynes/Hayek debate

Tonight, Wednesday 3 August 2011 at 08.00pm BST (GMT +1), BBC Radio 4 will broadcast a debate which took place at the London School of Economics (LSE) on 26 July.  This broadcast will be repeated on Saturday, 6 August, at 10.15 p.m BST (GMT +1). Along with my colleagues Prof. Victoria Chick and Douglas Coe at PRIME  we have written the

Eight fallacies in the LSE Keynes/Hayek debate Read More »

GDP figures: the verdict

This morning I joined the Guardian’s panel of Martin Kettle, Len McCluskey and Matthew Oakley to give our verdict on today’s GDP numbers: Ann Pettifor: “The Chancellor must eat humble pie” The statisticians, clutching at straws, blamed the victims – the British people – for the measly 0.2% growth in GDP. It turns out we are too fond of holidaying

GDP figures: the verdict Read More »

York Minster EBOR lecture

12th December 2009 At the end of last month I delivered the prestigious EBOR lecture at York. My address was entitled: “Credit, usury and political power: chasing the moneylenders from the temple that is our democracy” Click on the link below to read a PDF version of the full lecture: EBOR Lecture November 25th (PDF)

York Minster EBOR lecture Read More »

The Treasury Privatised

29 October, 2009 Dan Roberts has a great column in the Guardian today. He asks the right questions. First, why is the Treasury spending £8 billion of taxpayers money reinflating the housing market? Second, why is the Treasury encouraging this now nationalised bank to increase mortgage lending, when the productive sector of the economy – companies,

The Treasury Privatised Read More »

Times: Worst of slump yet to come, says economist

Article Published in the Times, September 1st 2009. Photo by Jon Enoch. Ann Pettifor predicted a painful end to the good times. Now she says that only radical action can prevent further gloom Phil Thornton Ann Pettifor is a member of a select club — the seers who saw it all coming. Now the economist,

Times: Worst of slump yet to come, says economist Read More »

Quantitative easing (QE) made easy

by Ann Pettifor, 8 March, 2009. There is much confusion about the meaning and impact of QE. This is an attempt to summarise what it means, what it does not mean, and how it can be effective in preventing insolvencies by lowering interest rates. I am indebted to Graham Turner of GFC Economics for sharing

Quantitative easing (QE) made easy Read More »

The Bank of England has lost control

7th November 2008 Yesterday’s dramatic Bank of England 1.5% rate cut was an extraordinary admission of analytical failure. The Monetary Policy Committee of orthodox economists (with Danny Blanchflower the honourable exception) is well behind the curve. While it is tiresome to beat one’s own drum, I am obliged to point out that on the 12th

The Bank of England has lost control Read More »