Publications

Bill White made a presentation at the annual Lamfalussy Conference held at the Central Bank of Hungary, this year on February 4 in Budapest. His topic was the process of economic convergence between the Central, Eastern and South Eastern Economies (CESEE) in Europe and those richer economies further to the West. After looking at the recent history, Mr White suggested that future prospects for convergence depended in large part on the CESEE economies being resilient in resisting downturns. Historical studies indicated clearly that political division and the erosion of the rule of law reduced the trust and cooperation required for a resilient economy.

Alexander Lamfalussy was the General Manager of the BIS and later the head of the European Monetary Institute, the precursor of the European Central Bank. Lamfalussy’s analysis of problems like financial instability and debt overhang, still with us today, provide important insights into possible solutions. A book that can be read cover to cover, or dipped into as the need arises.

http://www.jeeh.it/articolo?urn=urn:abi:abi:RIV.JOU:2018;1.172

This essay was used as a foreward to a research study, published on May 8 2018, which looked closely into the course content of eight undergraduate macroeconomic courses taught at Dutch universites. It concludes that the overwhelming emphasis on Neoclassical models and mathematical methods means these courses provide no practical insights into solving the real problems faced by economists in the real world.

This essay has just been published as Chapter 21 in “The Changing Fortunes of Central Banking”, edited by Philipp Hartmann, Haizhou Huang and Dirk Schoenmaker. Cambridge University Press.

This article was co-authored with others and constitutes an official  version of the conference proceedings. William White gave his personal  summary at the end of the meeting, and his comments can be found on this website under Presentations.

https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/quarterly-bulletin/2018/2018-q1/boe-hkma-imf-conference

This essay will be forthcoming in a book published by the Reinventing Bretton Woods Committee. It argues that monetary, fiscal and regulatory policies have all been conducted without adequate consideration being given to their longer run consequences. Policies should try to deliver not only material increases in well being, but also increases that are sustainable and benfit the many and not just the few. To acheive such policy outcomes, we must reform both the domestic and international institutional structures that condition such policies.

This article was published in Credit and Capital Markets, Volume 50, Issue 2, 2017, pp 213-235. It argues that conventional monetary policy fails to recognize that the economy is a complex, adaptive system like many in in nature and society. This failure has resulted in easy monetary policies producing a number of dangerous and unintended consequences whose effects can now only be mitigated by government action. Embracing complexity also leads to many practical suggestions as to how monetary policy might be better conducted in the future.

CIGI – Hertie School Workshop
“10 Years Since the Global Financial Crisis: Lessons learned, Opportunities Missed”
Berlin, Germany
31 May 2017

The G20’s Reform of Banking Regulation and the Changing Nature of the Global Financial System

BOE-HKMA-MF  Conference on Monetary Financial and Prudential Policy Interactions in the Post-Crisis World

William White was awarded the Adam Smith prize on 11 September, the highest prize of the US National Association of Business Economists. The paper underlying his remarks at the ceremony has been  published in Business Economics

Adam Smith Prize Lecture – National Association of Business Economists – Atlanta, Georgia – 11 September 2016