The first Mecpoc Symposium was held on April 8, 2008, at Franklin College Switzerland. The proceedings consist of papers submitted by the guest speakers and transcripts of the speakers’ remarks.

To download the full symposium proceedings, click here. Segments of the proceedings can be found below.

Program Contents

• Symposium Participants
• Welcome and Introduction
• Korkut A. Ertürk – University of Utah and Levy Economics Institute
  Where Are We in the Crisis and What to Expect Next?
• Jérôme Creel – ESCP-EAP and OFCE
  Monetary policy: What Can Be Learned from Recent History?
• Benoît Mojon – Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and European Central Bank
  Globalization and Inflation Dynamics
• Christian de Boissieu – Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
  Has Globalization Turned Inflationary?
• Panel Discussion with Antonio Foglia – Banca del Ceresio, Giacomo Vaciago – Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Christian de Boissieu – Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne

There are no ’scarce resources’ causing the financial crisis and the global recession! And yet, no self-correcting force is likely to operate soon. In a “money crisis”, only political authorities (who are the ultimate monopolists of money) can provide effective answers. And to be effective, these should be based on out-of-the-box thinking.

Bank deposits are based on depositors’ confidence, and nothing else: banks’ liqudity is (always) only a fraction of deposits.

Unconventional idea #1: The US Fed should remove the self-imposed $100,000 cap on insured bank deposits. Make insurance unlimited!

Banks can’t find enough liquidity, and when they can’t, they declare bankruptcy even when their balance sheet is sound!

Unconventional idea #2: The US Fed should provide unlimited, unsecured lending at the Federal Funds rate. Banks should be able to borrow all they need.

Demand, incomes, and employment are diving. Lowering interest rates is completely ineffective now.

Unconventional idea #3: A fast and very substantial fiscal package is needed with no consideration to deficit caps! A fast action is to declare a payroll tax holiday.

The euro system is at risk of more and larger insolvencies. In addition, because of Euro rules governments cannot guarantee the checks they write! It is hard to change this structure during emergency. The above proposed measures may mend the Euro mess too, for the moment… and if we are lucky!