Ann Pettifor

Ann Pettifor

Political economist, author and public speaker

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Bank of England

How governments finance their spending (and its not from taxation).

October 21, 2018 / Bank of England, Credit Creation, Debt, Economic Orthodoxy, Fiscal Deficit, Government Borrowing, Public Spending

Readers of this blog may know that Patrick Allen, founder of the Progressive Economy Forum (PEF) invited me to become a member of its distinguished Council in July this year. Other members include Professors John Weeks, Joseph Stiglitz, Stephany Griffiths-Jones, Robert Skidelsky, Daniela Gabor, Danny Darling, Ha Joon Chang and Doctors Johnna Montgomery, Geoff Tily, …

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What would you do – if appointed as governor of the Bank of England?

October 21, 2018 / Bank of England, British Banking, Interest Rates

That was the question put to me by Ruth Potts, then editor of Red Pepper magazine. My reply was published in the 17 September, 2018 edition of the magazine – Creating the Future. If such an implausible appointment were ever to be made by a Labour Chancellor, I would regard my appointment as Governor of …

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On “the policy” and the Governor of the Bank of England

September 13, 2018 / Bank of England

Extract from an article written for PEF Carney does not seem to be aware, but central bankers’ groupthink today unites once again around the “normalcy” of a single policy: financial globalisation, or unfettered financial capitalism. In other words, the deregulation and globalisation of markets in money, goods, services, property and labour is once again the …

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What Is Wrong with the Bank of England’s Decision Today?

August 3, 2018 / Bank of England, Financial Crisis, Interest Rates

The BoE’s decision to raise the Bank Rate to 0.75% is a mistake. It is a mistake comparable to those made by Alan Greenspan’s Federal Reserve in the years between 2003 and 2006.  It is a mistake that must be understood in a wider context. Not just the political context – which promotes ‘monetary radicalism …

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Why the Bank of England Should Not Raise the Bank Rate

October 21, 2018 / Bank of England, British Banking, Interest Rates

I wrote this post on the 21st April, 2018, for PRIME. “There are a significant number of households that are in so deep that the slightest sign of rough weather could see them in over their heads,” said Jonathan Davidson, one of the FCA’s directors of supervision. Given these imbalances, the biggest danger facing the …

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Money for Nothing…

April 18, 2017 / Anglo-American Financial Crisis, Bank Bail-outs, Bank of England, British Banking, International Financial System, Money

The production of money is ultimately the struggle for control over resources, wealth, people and our environment. But there is a surprising level of ignorance around how banks create money out of thin air and the benefits which flow from it. So on this programme we shine a much-needed light on who should get the …

Money for Nothing…Read More »

Osborne: Speaking truth to wealth and power? Really?

October 6, 2011 / Bank Bail-outs, Bank of England, Bankers in Government, Banking Crisis, British Banking, British Chancellor, Central Banks, Credit, Credit Creation, Debt, Economic Consequences of Mr Osbourne, Finance Ministers, Financial Crisis

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 …

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What a financial tailspin may mean for you and me

August 22, 2011 / Anglo-American Financial Crisis, Bank of England, Banking Crisis, Bretton Woods, British Banking, Central Banks, Consumer Debt, Credit, Debt, Democracy, Financial Crisis, Foreclosure, Interest Rates, Keynes, Mortgages

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 …

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Eight fallacies in the LSE Keynes/Hayek debate

August 3, 2011 / Anglo-American Financial Crisis, Bank of England, Banking Crisis, Central Banks, Consumer Debt, Debt, Inflation, Interest Rates, Keynes, Money, UK Financial Crisis, Unemployment, US Financial Crisis

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 …

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GDP figures: the verdict

July 26, 2011 / Bank Bail-outs, Bank of England, Banking Crisis, Central Banks, Debt, Treasury, UK Financial Crisis

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 …

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