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Willem H. Buiter

Willem H. Buiter

54 commentaries

Willem H. Buiter, a former chief economist at Citibank and former member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England, is an independent economic adviser.

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  1. Why Have Inflation Forecasts Been So Wrong?
    buiter53_Drew AngererGetty Images_ffed Drew Angerer/Getty Images

    Why Have Inflation Forecasts Been So Wrong?

    Apr 1, 2024 Willem H. Buiter & Ebrahim Rahbari consider the factors that have most confounded macroeconomic models over the past three years.

  2. Central Banks Need to Be Honest About Their Losses
    buiter52_Thomas LohnesGetty Images_ECB Thomas Lohnes/Getty Images

    Central Banks Need to Be Honest About Their Losses

    Mar 5, 2024 Willem H. Buiter criticizes the European Central Bank and US Federal Reserve's accounting tricks.

  3. The ECB Should Change Three Bad Habits
    buiter51_Andreas RentzGetty Images_lagarde Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

    The ECB Should Change Three Bad Habits

    Jan 17, 2024 Willem H. Buiter & Ebrahim Rahbari identify longstanding practices that have consistently left policymakers behind the curve.

  4. A Farewell to Cash
    buiter50_Getty Images_cbdc Getty Images

    A Farewell to Cash

    Dec 11, 2023 Willem H. Buiter rebuts the three main arguments against introducing an interest-bearing central bank digital currency.

  5. Is the Fed’s Negative Capital a Problem?
    dahn1_Mark WilsonGetty Images_USfederalreserve Mark Wilson/Getty Images

    Is the Fed’s Negative Capital a Problem?

    Sep 28, 2023 Willem H. Buiter thinks not, but recommends a reform designed to ensure that it does not become one in the future.

  1. skidelsky200_Getty Images_speech Getty Images

    The Language of Political Control

    Robert Skidelsky views recent linguistic innovations as manipulative efforts to compel “correct” thought and perception.
  2. basu101_Alfonso Sangiao iStock  Getty Images Plus_voting Alfonso Sangiao/iStock / Getty Images Plus

    Globalization vs. Democracy

    Kaushik Basu highlights the contradictions and vulnerabilities inherent in the current international order.
  3. coyle36 Alishia AbodundeGetty Images INFRASTRUCTURE Alishia Abodunde/Getty Images

    The West’s New Infrastructure Imperative

    Diane Coyle explains why a broader conception of the term could reflect a renewed interest in investing in the future.
  4. bp iran israel Photo by Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images

    An Iran-Israel War?

    Iran’s mass ballistic missile and drone attack on Israel last week raised anew the specter of a widening Middle East war that draws in Iran and its proxies, as well as Western countries like the United States. The urgent need to defuse tensions – starting by ending Israel’s war in Gaza and pursuing a lasting political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – is obvious, but can it be done?

  5. nasheed3_MANDEL NGANAFP via Getty Images_georgieva MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

    What a Climate-Aligned IMF Would Look Like

    Mohamed Nasheed & Rakesh Mohan explain how the managing director can fully position the institution to help the most vulnerable countries.
  6. ghosh76_Kristin Palitzapicture alliance via Getty Images_afrigen Kristin Palitza/picture alliance via Getty Images

    The Key to Transforming African Health

    Jayati Ghosh highlights efforts to foster scientific innovation and drug manufacturing on the continent.
  7. op_roach3_ Kevin FrayerGetty Images_china lagging consumption Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

    China’s Rebalancing Imperative

    Stephen S. Roach

    The most successful development stories almost always involve major shifts in the sources of economic growth, which in turn allow economies to reinvent themselves out of necessity or by design. In China, the interplay of mounting external pressures, lagging household consumption, and falling productivity will increasingly shape China’s policy choices in the years ahead.

    explains why the Chinese authorities should switch to a consumption- and productivity-led growth model.
  8. castaneda88_GERARDO MENOSCALAFP via Getty Images_latin america safety GERARDO MENOSCAL/AFP via Getty Images

    From Welfare State to Safe State in Latin America

    Jorge G. Castañeda & Carlos Ominami

    Designing a progressive anti-violence strategy that delivers the safety for which a huge share of Latin Americans crave is perhaps the most difficult challenge facing many of the region’s governments. But it is also the most important.

    urge the region’s progressives to start treating security as an essential component of social protection.
  9. ocampo57_Celal GunesAnadolu Agency via Getty Images_imf Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

    The Urgency of Sovereign-Debt Restructuring

    José Antonio Ocampo highlights the need for a comprehensive mechanism to deliver relief to low- and middle-income countries.

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