Presentations

William White made the opening presentation at an international conference which took place in Reykjavik, Iceland on 1-2 September. Borrowing from earlier presentations, White suggested that realizing the joint objectives of sustainable, inclusive growth in  a free society required each of a variety of interdependent systems to function well. He worried in particular that negative supply shocks could cause global economic problems that might well pose dangers to democratic political systems that were already showing worrisome signs of instability.

William White made a presentation on  May 3 at the Institute for International Economic Policy at George Washington University in Washington DC. He contended that the global economic and financial system has been showing increasing signs of stress for many years, raising the likelihood of harmful “tipping points”. In large part, this has been due to the unintended consequences of well-meaning macroeconomic and regulatory policies. Now we must also confront negative supply shocks that will lower real growth and exacerbate inflationary tendencies over a number of years. Unfortunately, over recent years, many democratic countries have also developed political “fault lines” that could now threaten the future of democracy itself. Since history provides many examples of political regime change –  triggered by environmental crises, pandemics, and above all economic and financial crises – there are legitimate reasons for concern.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VW-h7V6OkWA

On 20 April, 2022, William White and Barry Eichengreen discussed this topic on a webinar organized by the C D Howe Institute in Toronto, Canada.  William White suggested there are many indictors that a global economic and financial crisis could be coming quite soon. He also suggested that such a development, unlike the early days of the crisis that began in 2008, might be more likely to spark a dollar crisis as well. Absent such a dollar crisis, the current international monetary (non) system based primarily on the dollar was likely to continue, though a gradual shift to a tripartite block of national currencies (the dollar, euro and renmimbi) could also be envisaged.  Should a dollar crisis erupt, a variety of outcomes could be anticipated. At one end of the spectrum would be a cooperatively agreed new system, based on some internationally issued money or commodity, that would rectify shortcomings in the current system. At the other end of the spectrum would be an autarchic outcome that would have severe economic, political and even environmental implications.

To see the recording of William White’s presentation use the password Finance123

https://cdhowe.webex.com/recordingservice/sites/cdhowe/recording/334a916ea2f5103abe4b32b94f03a17b/playback

William White made a webinar presentation to the Global Risk Institute in Toronto on 3 March 2022. He described how the longer rum implications of policies, above all monetary policy, intended to mitigate shorter run problems  in the economy could cause even worse problems over time. This reality is attested to by numerous signs of stress in the current economic and financial system which could now easily spread over to other systems (political, environmental and public health) as well. White listed seven reasons for expecting a stagflationary future, with equally plausible arguments for subsequent high inflation or a debt-deflation. He raised the possibility that highly indebted governments, given such difficult circumstances, might turn to “financial repression” as the easiest way out.

https://globalriskinstitute.org/past-events/uncharted-waters-when-policy-solutions-exacerbate-or-become-the-problem/

On 26 February, 2022, William White made a webinar presentation to the Oxford Forum for International Development at Oxford University. He emphasized that the pursuit of sustainable and inclusive growth in free societies rests on the efficient functioning of underlying systems; in particular our economic/financial, political, environmental and public health systems. Unfortunately each of those systems is currently under stress and those stresses seem likely to grow with time. To get off the current “bad path”, White argued we need clarity about what achievable, alternative systems might look like and the practical steps needed to get “there” from “here”.

https://events.hubilo.com/oxfid/session/124574

William White participated in a panel discussion at the American Enterprise Institute on November 12th.  In his prepared presentation (from 48 minute mark), White suggested that the economies of the advanced countries  were on an ever narrowing path, with high inflation threatening on one side and  a dangerous deflation on the other.  Central banks had inadvertently contributed to this growing exposure  through the pursuit of policies that were generally unnecessary, increasingly ineffective and ultimately dangerous.  White felt that the root cause was the failure of central banks to recognize the essential nature of a modern economy; it is complex and adaptive, not simple and static. When asked how similar mistakes might be avoided in the future, White provided a number of practical suggestions. However, before “building back better” we need to recognize the damage left over from the previous regime. It would be best to deal with the overhang of unserviceable debt through explicit debt restructuring.

https://www.aei.org/events/monetary-policy-and-the-everything-asset-price-bubble/

The NAEC group at the OECD  inaugurated on 4 November a new international network of government officials to question conventional approaches to policy making. William White participated in an inaugural panel chaired by Rana Foroohar (of the Financial Times) and Jo Swinson (previous leader of the Liberal Democratic Party in the UK). White (1 hour, 2 minutes in) highlighted the problem of groupthink in government and the unwillingness of many to “speak truth to power”. This new network could encourage individuals in national capitals to speak out, knowing that their views were shared by others, and could also be an independent source of new ideas within governments. White finished by noting that there were many false beliefs about how the economy works that needed to be challenged.

https://oecdtv.webtv-solution.com/7ecd0c8a9324cf24afbe096945a14d83/or/naec_meeting_genesys.html

At the 2021 AGM of the Council on Economic Polices, William White introduced a discussion of how central banks and financial regulators might contribute more concretely to meeting sustainability objectives both within the financial sector and in other systems. He described what a more “ideal” financial system might look like, and discussed some of the impediments to getting there from where we are now.

“Stand Easy” is a website, directed by Mark Saint-Pierre of the Canadian Armed Forces, whose content is directed to National Security Professionals in democratic countries. His interview with William White was posted on 19 September 2021. White reviewed many of the issues raised in his earlier publications (eg “The four horsemen of the apocalypse”, published in The International Economy), with particular emphasis on the implications for national security when vital systems (economic, political, environmental or health) fail. An important challenge in democracies is getting popular support for “unpalatable” policies that might be required to avoid “disastrous” outcomes, sometimes the unintended consequence of previous policies. An associated danger, seen many times in history, is the rise of demagogues promising easy solutions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFDgI8SsdzM

In a webinar on 26 July, William White presented a paper originally prepared for the Council on Economic Policies (see Publications). However, his comments differed from that text in that they emphasized the primacy of preserving a healthy political system in support of policies to strengthen economic, environmental and public health systems. Without popular support, these other policies will be very hard to implement.