March 15, 2010
Policy Making In The Global Financial Crisis
The financial crisis of 2007–2010 has been called the worst crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. It contributed to the failure of key businesses, declines in consumer wealth estimated in the trillions of U.S. dollars, substantial financial commitments incurred by governments, and a significant decline in economic activity. Governments and central banks responded with unprecedented fiscal stimulus, monetary policy expansion, and institutional bailouts.
Tim Besley is the Kuwait Professor of Economics and Political Science at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). From September 2006 to August 2009, Professor Besley was an external member of the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee. In this lecture he talked about his experiences as a policy maker during this turbulent time, what he believes we can take away from the global meltdown, and how governments and central banks responded to it.