Expert Comment
The need for a targeted lending scheme in the euro area
Comment by Dr Michael McMahon, Department of Economics, in response to The Economist's recent Free exchange column on the European Central Bank's troubles in providing support to peripheral economies:
THE Free Exchange column makes a strong case in support of view that there is something wrong with provision of credit to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the euro area. I agree. However I would go further than suggesting that lending support targeted at the SME sector, as the UK’s funding for lending scheme (FLS) does, is something the ECB could consider; I believe such targeted lending is something that the ECB must adopt, and sooner rather than later...
France returns to recession
Dr Ben Clift, department of Politics and International Studies, reacts to news that the French economy has gone back into recession.
The current French Government, and the last one, understate the degree to which reductions in public expenditure contained in fiscal consolidation plans will eat away at demand and growth in the economy.
Escaping liquidity traps: Lessons from the UK’s 1930s escape
The UK escaped a liquidity trap in the 1930s and enjoyed a strong economic recovery. This column by Economics Professor Nicholas Crafts argues that what drove this recovery was ‘unconventional’ monetary policy implemented not by the Bank of England but by the Treasury. Thus, Neville Chamberlain was an early proponent of ‘Abenomics’. This raises the question: is inflation targeting by an independent central bank appropriate at a time of very low nominal-interest rates?
A rising power reaching the top? Brazilians now lead the WTO and the FAO
Ben Richardson, Assistant Professor in International Political Economy (IPE) in the Department of Politics and International Studies comments on the news that Brazilian Roberto Carvalho de Azevêdo has been named the new Director-General of the World Trade Organization.
Celebrating Dickens in 2012
A blog post on the Journal of Victorian Culture Online from Dr Charlotte Mathieson, Research Fellow in the Institute of Advanced Study:
Throughout 2012, the University of Warwick joined many institutions and organisations around the world in marking the bicentenary of Charles Dickens. Celebrating Dickens brought together researchers and students from the University to celebrate Dickens’s life and times...