Christina Romer, Chair Council of Economic Advisors Speech of September 24, 2009 •Economic History •Our Great Crisis vs. The Great Depression •Cheerleading •Back from the brink •Recovery underway •Policy Promotion •Continued stimulus •Regulatory initiatives
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Christina Romer, Chair Council of Economic Advisors Speech of September 24, 2009 Economic History Our Great Crisis vs. The Great Depression Cheerleading.
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Christina Romer, ChairCouncil of Economic Advisors
Speech of September 24, 2009•Economic History
•Our Great Crisis vs. The Great Depression
•Cheerleading•Back from the brink•Recovery underway
Do Shocks Compare?1929 decline in household wealth: 3 %
– Stock market down 14 % for year
2008 decline in household wealth: 17%– House prices down 9 % for year– Stock market down 24 %, September – October 2008– TED Spread Peak: ~ 400 basis points [really 500+ basis points!]
• Is 1929 vs 2008 a fair comparison of wealth shocks?– Great Depression bank panics started in 1930– Great Crisis financial panic started in September 2008
2008/2009 ResponsesLender of Last Resort / Spender of Last Resort
• Tax Rebate $124 bil.• Fed Fund Rate Cuts• Fannie/Freddie $200 bil.• Bear-Stearns $29 bil.• AIG $174 bil.Fed “Facilities”• Primary Dealer Credit Facility (PDCF) $58 bil.• Treasury Security Loan Facility (TSLF) $133 bil.• Term Auction Facility (TAF) $416 bil.• Asset- Backed Commercial Paper Funding Facility (CPFF) $1,777 bil.• Money Market Investor Funding Facility (MMIFF) $540 bil.• More Fed Fund Rate Cuts … Hold At ~0%• Fed Purchases of Long-Term Securities: GSEs & MBSs $600 bil.• Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF) $200 bil.Emergency Economic Stabilization Act/TARP $700 bil.
Government LoansGovernment Equity
Stimulus Package $787 bil. aka The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
TARP II• Stress Tests
Other Stabilizing Forces• Automatic Stabilizers
• Big G• Progressive Tax System• Social Safety Net{Weaker in US than in Europe Europe downturn cushioned}
• Anchored inflation expectations1929 – 1930: Sharp deflation/Deflationary expectations• Real interest rates and debt burdens up• Collateral values down2008 – 2009• Modest and steady core inflation• Steady rates on TIPs
• Deposit insurance
Recoveries: 1930s vs 20091933 - 1937
• Real GPD growth ~ 10 % per year• Unemployment rate down 11 points from 25 % peakRecovery stifled by monetary and fiscal contractions
2009• Real GDP 7% below potential
– Stimulus raised growth to 2% range– Stimulus created ~ 1 million jobs above baseline
Okun’s Law: need 2 ½ % growth [or more] for unemployment rate to fall
“ … to talk seriously about stopping policy support at a time when the unemployment rate is nearing 10% and still rising is to risk nipping the nascent recovery in the bud.” Christina D. Romer
Financial Regulatory Reform: Then and NowLegacies of Great Depression
• Banking Act of 1933 FDIC• Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 SEC• Banking Act of 1935 FOMC• Investment Company Act of 1940 Regulate mutual funds• Employment Act of 1946 Activist commitment
Existing flaws• No regulator evaluates risk to entire system
» Too big to fail / Too interconnected to fail• Overlapping regulatory agencies regulatory arbitrage• No way to resolve major non-bank financial institutions• Weak consumer protection
Administration Wish – List • Fed as czar?• Council of regulators
• Resolution authority– FDIC model … insurance premiums based on systemic risk?
• Consumer financial protection agencyCan the Fed do it?Has the Fed done it????
Other ideas in the air• Central clearinghouse for ALL derivatives• “Consumer protection” for sophisticated financial products• Deferred compensation / “clawbacks”
Dynamics of Financial Crises in Emerging Market Economies
• Stage one: Initiation of Financial Crisis.• Path one: mismanagement of financial liberalization
• Weak supervision and lack of expertise lending boom.• Domestic banks borrow from foreign banks. • Fixed exchange rates give a sense of lower risk.• Securities markets not well-developed Banks important
• Path two: severe fiscal imbalances:• Governments force banks to buy government debt. • When government debt loses value, bank net worth down .