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Howard Davies

Howard Davies

Writing for PS since 2009
84 commentaries

Howard Davies, the first chairman of the United Kingdom’s Financial Services Authority (1997-2003), is Chairman of NatWest Group. He was Director of the London School of Economics (2003-11) and served as Deputy Governor of the Bank of England and Director-General of the Confederation of British Industry.

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  1. America’s Financial Regulatory System Is Still Broken
    davies85_ Justin SullivanGetty Images_sanfranciscofed Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

    America’s Financial Regulatory System Is Still Broken

    Mar 22, 2023 Howard Davies laments that the post-2008 Dodd-Frank reforms left in place a framework riddled with structural shortcomings.

  2. Central Bankers’ Green Lines
    davies84_CLAUDIO BRESCIANITT News AgencyAFP via Getty Images_jerome powell CLAUDIO BRESCIANI/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images

    Central Bankers’ Green Lines

    Jan 19, 2023 Howard Davies holds out little hope for a global consensus on how monetary policy should address climate change.

  3. The Regulators’ Revolt
    davies83_ Peter MacdiarmidGetty Images_bankofengland Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

    The Regulators’ Revolt

    Nov 28, 2022 Howard Davies traces the rise and fall of the UK government's recent effort to wield the power to rewrite financial rules.

  4. The Bank of England After Boris
    davies81_TOLGA AKMENAFP via Getty Images_bankofengland Tolga Akmen/AFP via Getty Images

    The Bank of England After Boris

    Aug 11, 2022 Howard Davies considers the merits of raising the monetary authority's inflation target from 2% to 4%.

  5. Howard Davies on forward guidance, central-bank independence, the Volcker Rule, and more
    European Central Bank

    Howard Davies on forward guidance, central-bank independence, the Volcker Rule, and more

    Aug 9, 2022 Howard Davies fears that bringing the current bout of inflation under control will carry high costs, suggests ways monetary policymakers can protect their reputations, defends the UK Treasury from accusations that it is too powerful, and more.

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  1. afrasmussen17_TOFIK BABAYEVAFP via Getty Images_armeniaazerbaijanconflict Tofik Babayev/AFP via Getty Images
    1

    The Other Conflict on Europe’s Doorstep

    Anders Fogh Rasmussen warns that Azerbaijan may be preparing to renew its military aggression against neighboring Armenia.
  2. varoufakis101_Justin SullivanGetty Images_svb Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
    3

    Let the Banks Burn

    Yanis Varoufakis

    The banking system we take for granted is unfixable. The good news is that we no longer need to rely on any private, rent-seeking, socially destabilizing network of banks, at least not the way we have so far.

     shows why the current private system is unfixable – and why we don’t need to tolerate it anymore.
  3. roach151_ TIMOTHY A. CLARYAFP via Getty Images)_svb collapse TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)
    0

    How China Benefits from Another US Banking Crisis

    Stephen S. Roach thinks America’s latest financial trouble will reinforce a narrative of terminal national decline.
  4. op_schell1_Andrea VerdelliGetty Images_xijinping Andrea Verdelli/Getty Images
    8

    Xi Jinping’s Chinese Tragedy

    Orville Schell interviewed by Irena Grudzińska Gross

    Like Vladimir Putin, China's leader is so steeped in a narrative of victimhood and fearful of appearing weak that it is hard to imagine him ever leading China out of the mess he has created. He could well be remembered as the leader who squandered history's most remarkable economic success story.

     about the country's increasingly worrisome trajectory, both at home and abroad.
  5. zizek16_ Frank Rumpenhorstpicture alliance via Getty Images_chatbot Frank Rumpenhorst/picture alliance via Getty Images
    3

    Artificial Idiocy

    Slavoj Žižek fears that the rise of powerful chatbots will spell the death of irony and nuance in human thought.
  6. kabubomariara1_Per-Anders Pettersson Contributor Getty Images_research africa Per-Anders Pettersson / Contributor Getty Images
    0

    Localizing Development Research

    Julia Kaufman & Jane Wanjiku Mariara explain why funders should be providing more long-term resources to researchers in developing countries.
  7. eeckhout1_Feature ChinaFuture Publishing via Getty Images_digitalrenminbi Feature China/Future Publishing via Getty Images
    1

    The Simplest Fix for Banking

    Jan Eeckhout explains how central bank digital currencies would end bank runs and banks' excessive risk-taking.
  8. chellaney161_ARUN SANKARAFP via Getty Images_blinken lavrov ARUN SANKAR/AFP via Getty Images
    4

    America’s Interest in Ending the Ukraine Crisis

    Brahma Chellaney explains why prolonging the conflict risks realizing the West’s worst geopolitical nightmare.
  9. krueger61_Tom WilliamsCQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images_Intelsemicronductors Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
    0

    America’s Industrial Policy Is Counterproductive

    Anne O. Krueger laments that the Biden administration is adding red tape to an inefficient subsidy program.

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