Episode 102
William White | Financial Fault Lines, Central Banks, and the Law of Unintended Consequences
Episode 102
William R. White
William White | Financial Fault Lines, Central Banks, and the Law of Unintended Consequences
summary
In this week’s episode of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with economist and former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada, William White, about the state of our market economy and the prospects for an ‘international reset’ of the global financial system.
William R. White was most recently chairman of the Economic and Development Review Committee at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) from 2009 to 2018. He is famous for having flagged the wild behavior in debt markets before the Great Financial Crisis of 2008. He began his career in 1969 as an economist working at the Bank of England. In 1972 he joined the Bank of Canada where he spent 22 years and was appointed Deputy Governor in September 1988. In 1994, he joined the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and served as its Economic Adviser and Head of the Monetary and Economic Department from May 1995 to June 2008.
In their conversation, Demetri and Dr. White discuss a wide range of topics focused primarily on the global financial system. Their conversation begins with a focus on the state of the current system, including a discussion about the consequences of regulatory reform (both intended and unintended), as well as endogenous transformation to the system brought about by independent changes in the behavior of banks and other financial participants. Most of the conversation dealing with possible changes to the International Monetary and Financial System happen during the Episode Overtime, including a discussion about central bank-issued cryptocurrencies, private sector digital money like Libra, and Bitcoin. The overtime also includes a lengthy discussion about government policy in the face of climate change, and how this relates to the politics of monetary policy.
William White has spent five decades as a central banker and international financial policymaker, and we are fortunate beneficiaries of the wisdom that he has accrued during these many years.
Additional topics discussed during the episode include post-crisis reform, market architecture, currency wars, negative interest rates, the Chinese renminbi, causes for inflation, Japanification, the ‘Global Ring of Fire,’ and much more.
You can access the rundown to this week’s episode, along with a transcript of Demetri and Dr. White’s conversation through the Hidden Forces Supercast Page. All subscribers are granted access to our overtime feed, which can be easily added to your favorite podcast application.
Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas
Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou
Subscribe & Support the Podcast at http://patreon.com/hiddenforces
Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod
bio
William R. White is currently a Senior Fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute in Toronto, Canada. Until April of 2018, he was the chairman of the Economic and Development Review Committee at the OECD in Paris. This committee carries on regular evaluations of the policies of both member countries and aspiring members of the OECD. In his capacity as chairman, to which he was appointed in October 2009, William White also contributed to meetings of WP1 and the Economic Policy Committee of the OECD. As well, he was for four years a member of the Issing Committee, advising the German chancellor on G-20 issues. William White has in recent years published many articles on topics related to monetary and financial stability as well as the process of international cooperation in these areas. He speaks regularly to a wide range of audiences.
Dr. White was presented in September with the 2016 “Adam Smith Prize”, the highest award of the National Association of Business Economists (US). In May of 2015, he was honored with the “Hans-Moller-Medal” from VAC, the alumni club of political economists at Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich. Prior to that, he received the annual “Prize of the Monetary Workshop on Monetary, Financial and Macro-Prudential Policy “in Frankfurt in May 2014.
Dr. White joined the Bank for International Settlements in June 1994 as Manager in the Monetary and Economic Department and was appointed to the position of Economic Adviser and Head of the Monetary and Economic Department (MED), in May 1995. He oversaw the preparation of the prestigious BIS Annual Report for which he wrote the Introduction and Conclusions. As Head of the MED, he had overall responsibility for the department’s output of research, data and information services, and the organization of meetings for central bank Governors and staff around the world.
Dr. White was also a member of the Executive Committee which manages the BIS. In this capacity, he contributed actively to various internal subcommittees which establish policies to guide the Bank’s overall activities, including those of the Banking Department and Risk Control. He retired from the BIS on 30 June 2008.
Dr. White began his professional career at the Bank of England, where he was an economist from 1969 to 1972. Subsequently, he spent 22 years with the Bank of Canada. His first six years at the Bank of Canada were with the Department of Banking and Financial Analysis, first as an economist and finally as Deputy Chief. In1978, Dr. White took on different responsibilities as the Deputy Chief of the Research Department and was made Chief of the Department in 1979. He was appointed Adviser to the Governor in 1984 and Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada on September 1988.
In addition to these permanent positions, Dr. White spent six months (1985- 86) as a Special Adviser to the Canadian Minister of Finance and six years as a member of Statistics Canada’s Advisory Panel on the National Income Accounts. Since the late 1980s, he has been an active participant in many international committees, including the EPC and WP3 at the OECD, the G-10 Deputies, and the Bellagio Group which brings together senior government officials, central bankers, and academics.
Born in Kenora, Ontario, Dr. White received his BA from the University of Windsor in Windsor, Canada. In 1969 he received his Ph.D. from the University of Manchester, UK, where he was supported by a Commonwealth Scholarship.
transcript
content locked
or Subscribe to Access Premium Content
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Quis est enim, in quo sit cupiditas, quin recte cupidus dici possit? Est enim effectrix multarum et magnarum voluptatum. Nulla profecto est, quin suam vim retineat a primo ad extremum. Duo Reges: constructio interrete. Parvi enim primo ortu sic iacent, tamquam omnino sine animo sint. Quare attendo te studiose et, quaecumque rebus iis, de quibus hic sermo est, nomina inponis, memoriae mando;
Sine ea igitur iucunde negat posse se vivere? Hic nihil fuit, quod quaereremus. Quid ergo attinet dicere: Nihil haberem, quod reprehenderem, si finitas cupiditates haberent? Itaque haec cum illis est dissensio, cum Peripateticis nulla sane. Quae cum ita sint, effectum est nihil esse malum, quod turpe non sit. Cur id non ita fit? At certe gravius. Hic ambiguo ludimur. Est, ut dicis, inquit;
Quod autem meum munus dicis non equidem recuso, sed te adiungo socium. Sed ad haec, nisi molestum est, habeo quae velim. Duae sunt enim res quoque, ne tu verba solum putes. Itaque hic ipse iam pridem est reiectus;
Nec mihi illud dixeris: Haec enim ipsa mihi sunt voluptati, et erant illa Torquatis. Praeclarae mortes sunt imperatoriae; Non quam nostram quidem, inquit Pomponius iocans; Hi curatione adhibita levantur in dies, valet alter plus cotidie, alter videt. Sed emolumenta communia esse dicuntur, recte autem facta et peccata non habentur communia. Quibus ego vehementer assentior.
Full Episode
content locked
or Subscribe to Access Premium Content
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Quid censes in Latino fore? Tibi hoc incredibile, quod beatissimum. Nemo nostrum istius generis asotos iucunde putat vivere. In eo enim positum est id, quod dicimus esse expetendum. Hoc etsi multimodis reprehendi potest, tamen accipio, quod dant.
Unum est sine dolore esse, alterum cum voluptate. Eorum enim est haec querela, qui sibi cari sunt seseque diligunt. Iam enim adesse poterit. Quid me istud rogas? Nunc omni virtuti vitium contrario nomine opponitur. Esse enim quam vellet iniquus iustus poterat inpune. Nam ista vestra: Si gravis, brevis; Duae sunt enim res quoque, ne tu verba solum putes. Facit igitur Lucius noster prudenter, qui audire de summo bono potissimum velit; Quia dolori non voluptas contraria est, sed doloris privatio.
Quid enim tanto opus est instrumento in optimis artibus comparandis? De hominibus dici non necesse est. Hi curatione adhibita levantur in dies, valet alter plus cotidie, alter videt. An eiusdem modi?
Duo Reges: constructio interrete. Videmusne ut pueri ne verberibus quidem a contemplandis rebus perquirendisque deterreantur? Sed haec quidem liberius ab eo dicuntur et saepius. Scio enim esse quosdam, qui quavis lingua philosophari possint; A primo, ut opinor, animantium ortu petitur origo summi boni. Si enim ita est, vide ne facinus facias, cum mori suadeas.
intelligence report
content locked
or Subscribe to Access Premium Content
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ubi ut eam caperet aut quando? Nunc omni virtuti vitium contrario nomine opponitur. Hoc enim constituto in philosophia constituta sunt omnia. Et hunc idem dico, inquieta sed ad virtutes et ad vitia nihil interesse. An me, inquis, tam amentem putas, ut apud imperitos isto modo loquar? Duo Reges: constructio interrete.
Sed plane dicit quod intellegit. Qua tu etiam inprudens utebare non numquam. Haec quo modo conveniant, non sane intellego. Aliter homines, aliter philosophos loqui putas oportere? Easdemne res? Ratio quidem vestra sic cogit. Stuprata per vim Lucretia a regis filio testata civis se ipsa interemit. Expressa vero in iis aetatibus, quae iam confirmatae sunt.
Quarum ambarum rerum cum medicinam pollicetur, luxuriae licentiam pollicetur. Ita prorsus, inquam; Hoc simile tandem est? Si enim ad populum me vocas, eum. Se dicere inter honestum et turpe nimium quantum, nescio quid inmensum, inter ceteras res nihil omnino interesse. Et quidem, inquit, vehementer errat; Nam, ut sint illa vendibiliora, haec uberiora certe sunt. Non enim quaero quid verum, sed quid cuique dicendum sit.
Aliena dixit in physicis nec ea ipsa, quae tibi probarentur; Nihil ad rem! Ne sit sane;
extra material
content locked
or Subscribe to Access Premium Content
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Quod idem cum vestri faciant, non satis magnam tribuunt inventoribus gratiam. Consequatur summas voluptates non modo parvo, sed per me nihilo, si potest; Duo Reges: constructio interrete. Quasi ego id curem, quid ille aiat aut neget. Hoc Hieronymus summum bonum esse dixit. Ut alios omittam, hunc appello, quem ille unum secutus est. Quae quo sunt excelsiores, eo dant clariora indicia naturae.
Suam denique cuique naturam esse ad vivendum ducem. Intellegi quidem, ut propter aliam quampiam rem, verbi gratia propter voluptatem, nos amemus; Est enim tanti philosophi tamque nobilis audacter sua decreta defendere. Quia dolori non voluptas contraria est, sed doloris privatio. Tu vero, inquam, ducas licet, si sequetur; Quorum altera prosunt, nocent altera.
Ut proverbia non nulla veriora sint quam vestra dogmata. Primum in nostrane potestate est, quid meminerimus? Nam aliquando posse recte fieri dicunt nulla expectata nec quaesita voluptate. Qua igitur re ab deo vincitur, si aeternitate non vincitur? Prioris generis est docilitas, memoria; Quis non odit sordidos, vanos, leves, futtiles? Tubulo putas dicere? Diodorus, eius auditor, adiungit ad honestatem vacuitatem doloris.
Sed ne, dum huic obsequor, vobis molestus sim. In his igitur partibus duabus nihil erat, quod Zeno commutare gestiret. Egone quaeris, inquit, quid sentiam? Audio equidem philosophi vocem, Epicure, sed quid tibi dicendum sit oblitus es. Stoici autem, quod finem bonorum in una virtute ponunt, similes sunt illorum; Qua igitur re ab deo vincitur, si aeternitate non vincitur?
related episodes
Video
content locked
or Subscribe to Access Premium Content
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Magni enim aestimabat pecuniam non modo non contra leges, sed etiam legibus partam. Intellegi quidem, ut propter aliam quampiam rem, verbi gratia propter voluptatem, nos amemus; Quae cum essent dicta, discessimus. Duo Reges: constructio interrete. Non pugnem cum homine, cur tantum habeat in natura boni; Philosophi autem in suis lectulis plerumque moriuntur. Dici enim nihil potest verius.
Non enim solum Torquatus dixit quid sentiret, sed etiam cur. Nosti, credo, illud: Nemo pius est, qui pietatem-; In his igitur partibus duabus nihil erat, quod Zeno commutare gestiret. Si quae forte-possumus. Aliud igitur esse censet gaudere, aliud non dolere. Si quae forte-possumus.
Quod idem cum vestri faciant, non satis magnam tribuunt inventoribus gratiam. Nec lapathi suavitatem acupenseri Galloni Laelius anteponebat, sed suavitatem ipsam neglegebat; Haec bene dicuntur, nec ego repugno, sed inter sese ipsa pugnant. Ita fit cum gravior, tum etiam splendidior oratio. Haec para/doca illi, nos admirabilia dicamus. Itaque ad tempus ad Pisonem omnes. Quia nec honesto quic quam honestius nec turpi turpius. Mihi quidem Homerus huius modi quiddam vidisse videatur in iis, quae de Sirenum cantibus finxerit.
Ex quo, id quod omnes expetunt, beate vivendi ratio inveniri et comparari potest. Non pugnem cum homine, cur tantum habeat in natura boni; Mihi vero, inquit, placet agi subtilius et, ut ipse dixisti, pressius. Verba tu fingas et ea dicas, quae non sentias? Sed quid attinet de rebus tam apertis plura requirere? Idem iste, inquam, de voluptate quid sentit? Et hunc idem dico, inquieta sed ad virtutes et ad vitia nihil interesse. Cum autem negant ea quicquam ad beatam vitam pertinere, rursus naturam relinquunt.
