Professor John Quiggin: What Have We Learned from the Global Financial Crisis?
Date
From: Wednesday July 6, 2011, 12:00 pm
To: Wednesday July 6, 2011, 2:00 pm
The Global Financial Crisis of 2008 came close to destroying the financial systems of the US and Europe, not to mention the credibility of the economics profession. Yet, less than three years after the near-meltdown of the economy, it would be difficult for an observer to discern any signs that there had ever been a financial crisis. Indeed, while the crisis was created by financial speculation, the costs are being borne primarily by workers in the broader economy, and the policy responses have involved a renewed application of the public sector austerity measures traditionally favored by the financial sector. Similarly, the economics profession has continued to act as if the crisis had never occurred. Nevertheless, the lessons of the Global Financial Crisis are there to be learned, even if it takes a renewed crisis to drive them home.
John Quiggin is a Federation Fellow in Economics and Political Science at the University of Queensland. He is prominent both as a research economist and as a commentator on Australian economic policy. He has produced over 1000 publications, including five books and over 300 journal articles and book chapters, in fields including environmental economics, risk analysis, production economics, and the theory of economic growth. He has also written on policy topics including climate change, micro-economic reform, privatisation, employment policy and the management of the Murray-Darling river system. His full profile is available at http://www.uq.edu.au/economics/johnquiggin/.
Venue
RBA
65 Martin Place , Sydney NSW