The coronavirus crisis has caused a large increase in government debts in most countries. To what extent do governments have to increase taxes to repay these debts? Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) is an emergent, and increasingly influential, school of economic thought which argues that governments can create money and therefore they are not constrained in their spending. More mainstream economists, including the IMF, are advocating large scale public investments to boost growth rather than fiscal prudence. We are delighted to host Prof Randall Wray, a leading exponent of MMT in conversation with Paul De Grauwe, and hosted by Baroness Patience Wheatcroft to discuss whether countries do indeed need to increase taxes to pay for it’s increased debt, and what are the alternatives.
System renewal. Challenging established notions. Reimagining our societies.
System renewal. Challenging established notions. Reimagining our societies.
Will we really need to increase taxes to pay off Covid debts?
Panelists
Speaker
Prof. L. Randall Wray
One of the leading proponents of Modern Monetary Theory. He is a professor of Economics at Bard College and Senior Scholar at the Levy Economics Institute. Previously, he was a professor at the University of Missouri–Kansas City in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, whose faculty he joined in August 1999, and a professor at the University of Denver, where he served from 1987 to 1999. He has served as a visiting professor at the University of Rome, Italy, the University of Paris, France, and the UNAM, in Mexico City. From 1994 to 1995 he was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Bologna. From 2015 he is a Visiting professor at the University of Bergamo. Wray is a past president of the Association for Institutionalist Thought and served on the board of directors of the Association for Evolutionary Economics. He has served as co-editor of the International Journal of Environment, Workplace, and Employment.
Speaker
Prof. Paul De Grauwe
Belgian economist and John Paulson Professor in European Political Economy at the London School of Economics and Political Science as head of the European Institute. He is also professor emeritus in international economics at KU Leuven and former member of the Belgian Federal Parliament.
Chair
Baroness Patience Wheatcroft
Baroness Wheatcroft of Blackheath is a cross bench, former Conservative, Peer in the House of Lords. She was previously editor-in-chief of the Wall Street Journal, Europe, editor of the Sunday Telegraph, Business and City editor at The Times, and Deputy City Editor at the Mail on Sunday. She is a non-executive board member at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and has previously served as non-executive director at Barclays and Shaftesbury plc