The Treasurer should not let the RBA off the hook so easily

I have an op-ed in the AFR arguing that the Treasurer’s decision to leave its agreement with the RBA unchanged is a missed opportunity to hold the RBA accountable for its recent underperformance against mandate.

Robert Guy has a related piece in the same edition. The headline says it all.

The Treasurer just backed the RBA over what the market is telling us. We will see how that turns out.

posted on 06 November 2019 by skirchner in Monetary Policy

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Could the US-China trade deal save or sink Trump?

I talk to the United States Studies Center’s @2020VisionCast podcast about last week’s tentative trade deal between the US and China, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’s visit to Australia and other topics.

posted on 16 October 2019 by skirchner in Free Trade & Protectionism

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What is really driving monetary policy?

I get a mention in this insightful column by Parnell McGuinness noting that the debate over monetary policy is really about the allocation of responsibility for macroeconomic policy. RBA needs to step-up, not deflect.

posted on 16 October 2019 by skirchner in Monetary Policy

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Trump’s fake trade deal comes at a high price for global economy

I have an op-ed in the AFR on the tentative trade deal the Trump Administration has negotiated with China. While partially forestalling further tariff increases, enormous economic damage has already been done and will get worse in 2020.

posted on 14 October 2019 by skirchner in Free Trade & Protectionism

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Fiscal stimulus and open economy crowding-out

I’m quoted in this AFR story on the open economy crowing-out effects via the exchange rate and net exports that could be expected from a discretionary fiscal stimulus.

I make the case in more detail in this 2013 op-ed marking the 30th anniversary of the float Australian dollar.

posted on 12 October 2019 by skirchner in Fiscal Policy, Monetary Policy

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When interest rates approach zero, the RBA must rethink monetary policy

My explainer for the ABC Online on the RBA’s policy options as interest rates approach zero.

posted on 08 October 2019 by skirchner in Economics, Monetary Policy

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Australia’s slowing economy: how should the government and Reserve Bank respond?

Brendan Coates, Emma Dawson and I go head to head in the Guardian Australia over how the government and RBA should respond to an emerging downturn

posted on 21 September 2019 by skirchner in Economics, Fiscal Policy, Monetary Policy

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Australian Business Economists Event on QE

Australian Business Economists hosted a Lunchtime Briefing on QE in Australia? What would it look like? with Ms Lyn Cobley, Chief Executive, Westpac Insitutional Bank, Dr Stephen Grenville AO, Non-resident Fellow, Lowy Institute, and myself.

Ross Gittins summarises the event in his write-up for the SMH.

The text of my remarks can be found here.

posted on 26 August 2019 by skirchner in Economics, Monetary Policy

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I have a Substack

I have a Substack. Nothing you won’t find here or elsewhere, but available for those who like the medium.

posted on 15 August 2019 by skirchner in Economics, Financial Markets

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Currency wars lack real weapons

I have a piece in the USSC’s 45th on why so-called ‘currency wars’ are lacking in effective weapons.

Full text below the fold.

posted on 14 August 2019 by skirchner in

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Beware of romanticising the legacies of Bretton Woods

I have an op-ed in today’s AFR marking the 75th anniversary of Bretton Woods. I argue that the nostalgia for Bretton Woods is misplaced and we should instead celebrate the 1969 Oyster Bay and Burgenstock conferences that laid the intellectual groundwork for floating exchange rates.

Text below the fold.

posted on 26 July 2019 by skirchner in

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Lessons from quantitative easing in the United States: A guide for Australian policymakers

I have a new report out with the United States Studies Centre on Lessons from Quantitative Easing in the United States: A Guide for Australian Policymakers. It argues that the RBA could implement a smaller but more effective program of asset purchases by learning from the US Fed’s missteps.

There is a write up by John Kehoe in the AFR. There is also an op-ed version in The Conversation.

In this piece in The Mandarin, I explain why Tim Wilson MP and others are mistaken in their criticisms of QE. Opposing QE when it is needed will lead to more of the interventions Tim otherwise opposes.

Bloomberg’s Michael Heath also quotes from my report.

posted on 18 June 2019 by skirchner in Economics, Monetary Policy

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US Fed Shows the RBA is Not About to ‘Run out of Ammunition’

I have a piece in the USSC’s 45th on how the Federal Reserve shows that the RBA cannot ‘run out of ammunition’ and why the RBA is singularly responsible for managing aggregate demand.

posted on 06 June 2019 by skirchner in Monetary Policy

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New government should put Phil Lowe on the hook for inflation

I have an article in The Mandarin on why the next government should re-negotiate the current agreement between the Treasurer and Reserve Bank Governor on the conduct of monetary policy.

posted on 09 May 2019 by skirchner in Monetary Policy

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