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Willem H. Buiter

Willem H. Buiter

53 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. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. Public Accounting for Public Accountability
    buiter48_Blake CallahanGetty Images_accounting Blake Callahan/Getty Images

    Public Accounting for Public Accountability

    Aug 30, 2023 Willem H. Buiter highlights serious flaws in current approaches to measuring public-sector net worth.

  1. stiglitz331_serggnGetty Images_techregulation serggn/Getty Images

    A Big Defeat for Big Tech

    Joseph E. Stiglitz

    Tech companies know that if there is an open, democratic debate about data security, consumers’ concerns about digital safeguards will win out. And while the industry's lobbyists tried to ensure that no such debate could ever occur, one of their more cynical moves has now been exposed and thwarted.

    details how the industry tried to slip extraordinary protections against regulation into US trade agreements.
  2. zizek27_Giles ClarkeGetty Images_jimmycherizier Giles Clarke/Getty Images

    Haiti’s Proud Boys

    Slavoj Žižek

    If we measure a failed state by the cracks in the edifice of its power, reflected in brewing ideological civil wars, deadlocked assemblies, and increasingly insecure public spaces, we must recognize that the United States is not so unlike Haiti. Both have given rise to violent gangs with political ambitions.

    warns that rich Western democracies are not immune to politically motivated gang violence.
  3. hedegaard11_y Dursun AydemirAnadolu via Getty Images_parliament elections Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu via Getty Images

    Unity Is Europe’s Greatest Asset

    Connie Hedegaard emphasizes the importance of stability amid persistent economic and geopolitical crises.
  4. qian34_PEDRO PARDOAFP via Getty Images_immigration PEDRO PARDO/AFP via Getty Images

    The Truth About US Immigration

    Nancy Qian warns that overheated campaign-season rhetoric is dangerously polarizing and ultimately self-defeating.
  5. mueller51_ David McNewGetty Images_gop trump David McNew/Getty Images

    The Zombification of Political Parties

    Jan-Werner Mueller argues that Donald Trump’s capture of the GOP’s organizational machinery recalls authoritarian tactics elsewhere.
  6. basu100_David Dee DelgadoGetty Images_newyork David Dee Delgado/Getty Images

    The Economic Consequences of Legal Behavior

    Kaushik Basu highlights the potential benefits of emphasizing adherence to the spirit of laws, if not their letter.
  7. brown106_KOLA SULAIMONAFP via Getty Images_nigeriaschool Kola Sulaimon/AFP via Getty Images

    For Nigeria’s Schools, Safety Must Come First

    Gordon Brown writes that the latest mass abduction of students underscores the dilemma facing parents throughout the country.
  8. owoo1_disabled iStock / Getty Images Plus

    Give Women with Disabilities a Chance

    Nkechi S. Owoo explains what is needed to protect and empower one of the world’s most vulnerable demographic groups.
  9. op_mkurz3_Spencer PlattGetty Images_rustbelt Spencer Platt/Getty Images

    How Capitalism Became a Threat to Democracy

    Mordecai Kurz examines the economic policies and market dynamics that have ushered in America's Second Gilded Age.

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