OMFIF Focus Podcast – Financial stability series: ‘Will central banks be to blame for the next crisis?’. Mohamed El-Erian, chief economist at Allianz, and Charles Goodhart, emeritus professor at the London School of Economics, speak with Marcin Stepan from OMFIF.
The role of central banks over the past 10 years has changed dramatically, expanding beyond traditional inflation targets and policy rates, heralding unconventional monetary policy. Central banks in advanced economies seem to be ‘almost omnipotent’ and ‘the only game in town’ with their expanded mandates. However, popular discontent and political backlash seems to be encroaching on central bank independence. This podcast reviews how effective ultra-loose monetary policy has been in contributing to economic growth and financial stability, and whether central banks are equipped with adequate tools, structures and safeguards to protect against another crisis.