logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2023
48m 39s

Does Argentina need a central bank?

Steve Keen & Phil Dobbie
About this episode
In his election pledges President-Elect Javier Milei promised the people of Argentina two things. First, he would do dollarize the economy. He’d ditch the Peso and replace it with the, already widely used, UD dollar. Secondly, he would abandon the central bank, who he blames for the rampant inflation, which is one part of many fronts of destruction against the Argentinian economy. But can a country really do without a central bank, even if it is reliant on the currency of another country? This week Phil and Steve talk about the roles of central banks – everything from controlling inflation, to maintaining the stability of the banking sector. Could it all be managed by governments internally? Some of the work is deeply technical and people in governments don’t tend to be very good at anything that requires working with numbers. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Oct 8
Corbyn’s New Party Needs New Economic Thinking
recent spoke at a meeting of Jeremy Corbyn’s new venture – Your Party. Steve gave a presentation on how governments can spend more without worrying about the deficit, provided it was done sensibly. The argument that the private sector buying up government bonds will crowd out inv ... Show More
48m 56s
Oct 1
QE, QT and the control of central banks
During the pandemic central banks had no choice but to buy up government bonds. There were just so many of them being issued. That’s why the UK’s quantitative easing program totalled more than £900 billion during 2020-1. Recently, the bank – like other central banks the world ove ... Show More
44m 5s
Sep 23
Does a government deficit help the rich?
You would assume that government spending is largely designed to help those on lower incomes. The NHS was designed to ensure free healthcare for all. The same for public education. And for welfare payments. So, I theory, the more the government spends, the more wealth is transfer ... Show More
41m 5s
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2023
Argentina goes to the polls
There are two candidates: one is the current economy minister who has a wealth of experience in power; the other is a maverick libertarian economist who wants to ditch the country’s currency, the peso, and strip the central bank of its ability to print money.We speak to his senio ... Show More
18m 6s
Dec 2023
Dollarizing Argentina
Argentina has been on a decades-long search for economic stability, but it always seems to be out of reach. High inflation has been plaguing the country and just surpassed 160% a year. Over the past couple of years, the local currency has collapsed. One U.S. dollar used to be wor ... Show More
24m 12s
Apr 2022
Money Talks: Breaking the bank? Part two
Thirty years ago, rich-world central banks started winning the fight against inflation. More recently, they have begun to fight new battles, including against climate change or inequality. As the old enemy of inflation returns, in this two-part series, host Soumaya Keynes asks if ... Show More
34m 44s
Apr 2022
Money Talks: Breaking the bank? Part two
Thirty years ago, rich-world central banks started winning the fight against inflation. More recently, they have begun to fight new battles, including against climate change or inequality. As the old enemy of inflation returns, in this two-part series, host Soumaya Keynes asks if ... Show More
34m 44s
Feb 2022
Argentina’s latest IMF crisis
Argentina’s government and the International Monetary Fund have been renegotiating the terms of a 2018 loan issued to the country – the largest in IMF history. The Fund’s own internal analysis of that deal was scathing. The 2018 package had been vaunted for its commitment to prot ... Show More
17m 54s
May 2023
Le Brésil et l’Argentine veulent se passer du dollar
Les initiatives pour échapper à l'hégémonie du dollar se multiplient dans les pays émergents. Avec plus ou moins de succès. Dernier exemple en date, un projet d’échanges bilatéraux en monnaie locale entre le Brésil et l’Argentine. Payer les importations brésiliennes en pesos arge ... Show More
4m 7s
Mar 2023
Global Economy: Central Bank Policy in a Time of Volatility
As markets contend with the recent volatility in the banking sector, global central banks face the challenge of continuing to combat inflation against this updated backdrop. Chief Cross-Asset Strategist Andrew Sheets and Global Chief Economist Seth Carpenter discuss. ----- Transc ... Show More
9m 3s
Sep 2023
A black market, a currency crisis, and a tango competition in Argentina
The Nobel-prize winning economist Simon Kuznets once analyzed the world's economies this way — he said there are four kinds of countries: developed, underdeveloped, Japan... and Argentina. If you want to understand what happens when inflation really goes off the rails, go to Arge ... Show More
23m 57s
Apr 2022
Money Talks: Breaking the bank? Part one
Thirty years ago, rich-world central banks started winning the fight against inflation. More recently, they have begun to fight new battles, including against climate change or inequality. As the old enemy of inflation returns, in this two-part series, host Soumaya Keynes asks if ... Show More
34m 51s
May 2021
Money Talks: Does the world still need banks?
Technological change is upending finance as the clout of payment platforms and tech firms grows and central banks begin to issue their own digital currencies. But can you imagine a world without banks? Rachana Shanbhogue explores the future of banking with Alice Fulwood, The Econ ... Show More
31m 15s