By Topic

This week’s IGM Economic Experts Panel poll statement: Because the U.S. Treasury bailed out and backstopped banks (by injecting equity into them in late 2008, and later committing to provide public capital to any banks that failed the stress tests and could not raise private capital), the U.S. unemployment rate was lower at the end of 2010 than it would have been without these measures. 

This US survey examines (a) Research on the nature and impact of bank runs has made it possible to limit substantially the wider economic damage from financial crises; (b) Reforms of financial regulation since 2008 (and macroprudential policies in some countries) will not substantially reduce the probability of financial crises 

This European survey examines (a) Research on the nature and impact of bank runs has made it possible to limit substantially the wider economic damage from financial crises; (b) Reforms of financial regulation since 2008 (and macroprudential policies in some countries) will not substantially reduce the probability of financial crises. 

This week’s IGM Economic Experts Panel statement: A bitcoin's value derives solely from the belief that others will want to use it for trade, which implies that its purchasing power is likely to fluctuate over time to a degree that will limit its usefulness. 

This week's IGM Economic Experts Panel statements: A) A bitcoin has a fundamental value of at least $1,000. B) The best forecast for the value of one bitcoin in 2 years is its current price. 

This week's IGM European Economic Experts Panel Statements: A) Bitcoins are more similar to gold than they are to currency. B) Bitcoins are more similar to gold than they are to Dutch tulips in the 1630s. 

This week’s IGM Economic Experts Panel statement: Californians would be better off on average if all final users in the state paid the same price for water — adjusted for quality, place and time — even if, as a result, some food prices rose sharply and some farms failed. 

This week’s IGM Economic Experts Panel statement: Informed postmortems of Ben Bernanke’s Fed chairmanship will judge favorably the Fed's creative and aggressive policy initiatives from autumn 2008 through early 2009. 

This week’s IGM Economic Experts Panel statement: China’s growth model, specifically the unusually high investment rate and low consumption rate, is unsustainable.