Simon Johnson
Simon Johnson, a former chief economist of the IMF, is co-founder of a leading economics blog,
http://BaselineScenario.com, a professor at MIT Sloan, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, and co-author, with James Kwak, of
13 Bankers.
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2012-01-23
| Among the Republican candidates still vying to challenge Barack Obama in November’s US presidential election, Ron Paul stands out for arguing consistently that government is the problem, not the answer, with regard to banking. But the real problem with financial regulation, a new study shows, is lobbying.... read |
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2011-12-20
| Big banks represent the ultimate in concentrated economic power in today’s economies: their executives want to get all the upside while facing none of the true downside. But capitalism without the prospect of failure is not any kind of market economy.... read |
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2011-11-23
| The eurozone could learn from the experience of Korea, which came through its crisis in the late 1990's more quickly than anyone expected, combining sensible reforms with a rapid recovery. The key was a large depreciation of the currency, the won – just as depreciation of the euro seems to be one likely way that the eurozone will turn the corner.... read |
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2011-10-20
| If the Occupy Wall Street movement tells us nothing else, it is that the last thing the US economy needs is more households overwhelmed by debt. That is why US banks should embrace a plan to restructure home mortgages – a quarter of which are worth more than the value of the underlying properties.... read |
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2011-09-19
| A few years ago, some regarded Japan as having overtaken the US, and Europe, too, was supposedly vying for global economic dominance. Now it's China's turn – and it suffers from the same vulnerabilities that have stymied Europe and Japan.... read |
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2011-08-12
| Jonathan Swift once wrote that, “Party is the madness of many, for the gain of the few.” That sums up America's Tea Party faction of the Republican Party, which has shown that it is willing to impose dramatic costs on the US economy and to ensure significantly slower growth.... read |
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2011-07-18
| Opponents of raising the US debt ceiling argue that the federal government is too big relative to the economy, and that drastic measures are needed to bring it under control. But the consequences of any default would, ironically, actually increase the size of government relative to the US economy.... read |
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2011-06-24
| European leaders are convinced that bank capital is “expensive,” in the sense that raising capital requirements would slow economic growth. But the latest developments in the Greek crisis show that the exact opposite is true – it’s European banks’ lack of capital that threatens to derail European and global growth.... read |
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2011-05-17
| John Boehner, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, is leading the Republican Party’s charge on fiscal policy, arguing that his side needs to see “trillions of dollars” in spending cuts in order for Congress to approve an increase in the US government’s debt ceiling. No one should believe him.... read |
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Arrogance and Authority
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Simon Johnson 
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It is increasingly common to hear prominent US and European central bankers claim, with respect to the crisis of 2008-10, essentially the following verdict: “We did well.” But this arrogant claim merely undermines central bankers' credibility, which, ultimately, is the only basis of their authority.... read
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2011-06-24
| European leaders are convinced that bank capital is “expensive,” in the sense that raising capital requirements would slow economic growth. But the latest developments in the Greek crisis show that the exact opposite is true – it’s European banks’ lack of capital that threatens to derail European and global growth.... read |
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2011-01-19
| The US continues to be riven by heated debate about the causes of the 2007-09 financial crisis, with Republicans blaming government policies that encouraged the poor to borrow more than they could afford. But if US politicians love the poor so much, why have they bailed out only the rich?... read |
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2010-05-17
| America’s financial sector has shown renewed strength in recent months – political strength, that is, undermining most of the sensible proposals for banking reform that remain on the table. If we are still making any progress at all, it is because of the noble efforts of a small number of US senators - and the prescience of one in particular.... read |
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2010-01-21
| WASHINGTON, DC – At last the Obama administration seems to be contemplating a decisive move against America’s banking elite. Following the recent electoral setback in Massachusetts the proposals laid down by former Federal Reserve chairman, Paul Volcker, to reduce the market power of the banks, are being dusted off. ... read |
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2010-06-15
| With the Obama administration rejecting what it once supported – the breakup of megabanks that are too big to fail – we are setting ourselves up for another boom based on excessive and reckless risk-taking at the heart of the world’s financial system. This can end only one way: badly.... read |
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2010-05-17
| America’s financial sector has shown renewed strength in recent months – political strength, that is, undermining most of the sensible proposals for banking reform that remain on the table. If we are still making any progress at all, it is because of the noble efforts of a small number of US senators - and the prescience of one in particular.... read |
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2010-09-15
| Today’s conventional view of the eurozone is that the crisis is over – the intense, often existential concern earlier this year about the common currency’s future has been assuaged, and everything now is back under control. But this is completely at odds with the facts – and the IMF seems poised to make Europe's insolvency problems worse.... read |
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2008-01-30
| Everyone wants economic stability, and many are reluctant to abandon today what gave them stability yesterday. But the stability of the international financial system today depends on the willingness of countries with rigid exchange rates to allow greater flexibility.... read |
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2010-03-16
| Like the over-leveraged euro-zone countries today, Kazakhstan binged on easy loans from global investment banks in recent years, before its banks defaulted on their loans in 2009. If European leaders are smart, they will recognize that a Greek default is similarly inevitable - and that it may be just what the European (and global) financial system needs.... read |
2012-01-23
