Lord Mervyn King On The Wrong Use Of Monetary Policy In A Radically Uncertain World

In this episode, I talk with Lord Mervyn King. He needs no introduction, except to say he is one of the leading figures in central banking over the past few decades. He served for ten years as the Governor of the Bank of England, which included dealing with the 2008 financial crisis. He’s written a number of books including the recent bestseller with co-author John Kay “Radical Uncertainty: Decision-making Beyond the Numbers”. Here’s what we talk about:

1. Defining uncertainty - difference between radical uncertainty and black swans
2. Use of narratives to understand uncertainty
3. Importance of resilience and preparedness
4. Why central banks have done too much during COVID
5. The importance of fiscal and other policies to deal with major economic challenges
6. His view on negative rates
7. Should central banks mandates be changed to target financial imbalances and inequality
8. Could inflation head higher?
9. Is climate change the only long-term risk to consider?
10. How his work on radical uncertainty has changes his view of economics