CLIMATE THE STATE

Remaking
finance

REMAKING
FINANCE

More than a decade after the financial crisis there still seems to be something seriously wrong with the financial system. Financial markets still tend to periodically misprice risk and contribute to boom and bust cycles. A better financial system needs to discourage short-termism and speculative activity, curtail systemic risk and distribute wealth more broadly.

KNOWLEDGE BASE
REMAKING
FINANCE

The Challenge

The 2008 Global Financial Crisis was the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and the world still suffers from systemic financial instability.

What Went Wrong

The efficient market hypothesis stipulated that bubbles could not exist and that the market is the best disciplining device.

New Economy in Progress

A better financial system needs to counter herding, booms and busts and the inherent tendency towards instability.

5 WAYS THAT ARE DISCUSSED TO REMAKE FINANCE

1

Macro-prudential regulation such as caps on loan-to-value or debt-to-income ratios to lower systemic risk.

2

Higher bank capital ratios to reduce leverage levels and the risk of bank collapses.

3

Countercyclical capital buffers to reduce the procyclicality of the financial system.

4

Financial transaction tax to reduce unnecessary or destabilising financial activity.

5

A new version of the Bretton Woods System, which shaped the post-war era.

FINANCIAL CRISES IN ADVANCED ECONOMIES, 1870-2015

FINANCIAL WORLD  | NEW ECONOMY SHORT CUT 23 February 2021

New Economy Short Cut & INET Debt Talk – Who’s Afraid of European Banks?

Join us for our ninth edition of the New Economy Short Cut, this time in partnership with the Institute for New Economic Thinking. With Martin Arnold, Elena Carletti and Richard Vague; moderated by Thomas Fricke and Moritz Schularick

FINANCIAL WORLD 3 APRIL 2020

The Conflict of Interest on the Financial Market in Europe

How far can policymakers stretch the mandate of the ECB? Right now the central bank seems to be the institution burdened with organizing European solidarity. Erik Jones gives a detailed look into the current developments and explains how the banking sector functions.

FINANCIAL WORLD 10 MARCH 2020

IfW Kiel on the EU Financial Transaction Tax: “Instrument suitable, proposed implementation flawed”

According to a recent German-French proposal, a financial market transaction tax (FTT) on the purchase of securities is to be introduced in 10 EU countries. In their study, the authors of the Kiel institute for the world economy compare this proposal in an international perspective and develop policy recommendations.

FINANCIAL WORLD 1 NOVEMBER 2019

Towards a New Paradigm: Stabilizing Financial Markets

By Moritz Schularick and Kaspar Zimmermann, University of Bonn

OTHER MAIN TOPICS

New Paradigm

NEW PARADIGM

After decades of overly naive market belief, we urgently need new answers to the great challenges of our time. More so, we need a whole new paradigm to guide us. We collect everything about the people and the community who are dealing with the question of a new paradigm and who analyze the historical and present impact of paradigms and narratives – whether in new contributions, performances, books and events.

Redefining
the role of
the state

REDEFINING
THE ROLE OF
THE STATE

For decades, there was a consensus that reducing the role of the state and cutting public debt would generate wealth. This contributed to a chronic underinvestment in education and public infrastructure. New research focuses on establishing when and how governments need to intervene to better contribute to long-term prosperity and to stabilize rather than aggravate economic fluctuations.

Greening
prosperity

GREENING
PROSPERITY

During the high point of market orthodoxy, economists argued that the most 'efficient' way to combat climate change was to simply let markets determine the price of carbon emissions. Today, there is a growing consensus that prices need to be regulated and that a carbon price on its own might not be enough.

Reducing
inequality

REDUCING
INEQUALITY

The rising gap between rich and poor has become a threat to social cohesion in most rich countries. To reverse this trend it will be crucial to better understand the importance of different drivers of income and wealth inequality.

Innovation Lab

INNOVATION LAB

Do we need a whole new understanding of economic growth? What would be a real alternative? How viable are alternatives to GDP when it comes to measuring prosperity? These and other more fundamental challenges are what this section is about.

Globalization
for all

GLOBALIZATION
FOR ALL

After three decades of poorly managed integration, globalization is threatened by social discontent and the rise of populist forces. A new paradigm will need better ways not only to compensate the groups that have lost, but to distribute the gains more broadly from the start.

Europe
beyond markets

EUROPE
BEYOND MARKETS

The euro was planned during a period in which economic policy making was driven by a deep belief in market liberalism and the near impossibility of systemic financial crises. This belief has been brought into question since the euro crisis, which showed that panics do happen. New thinking needs to focus on developing mechanisms to protect eurozone countries from such panics and to foster economic convergence between members.

Corona Crisis

CORONA CRISIS

The current Corona crisis is probably the worst economic crisis of the post-World War 2 era. Economists are working hard on mitigating the economic effects caused by COVID-19 to prevent a second Great Depression, the break-up of the Eurozone and the end of globalisation. We collect the most important contributions.