In this speech, Andrew Sentance, a member of the Monetary Policy Committee, reviews the way in which the global economy affects UK inflation and hence monetary policy. He argues that global inflationary pressures have become more significant in recent years, reflecting strong world economic...

In this speech, Andrew Sentance, a member of the Monetary Policy Committee, discusses business attitudes to monetary policy, drawing on his experience as a business economist and as a member of the MPC. He highlights some important changes over the past two decades, and argues that business has...

In his inaugural speech as a member of the Monetary Policy Committee, Andrew Sentance sets out his views on the principles which underpin the successful conduct of monetary policy and discusses the factors underpinning the growth of the supply-side potential of the UK economy. Since the...

The difficult economic climate in Europe and the United States since the financial crisis is set to continue as the New Normal, despite frantic efforts to stimulate growth. The long phase of expansion that lasted from the 1980s until 2008 was driven by easy money, cheap imports and confidence -...

The recent financial crisis has put the spotlight on the rapid rise in credit which preceded it. In this paper, we provide an empirical and theoretical analysis of the credit boom and the macroeconomic context in which it developed. We find that the boom was unusually long and associated with...

For the UK and other advanced economies the transition to a genuinely Low Carbon Society is a major undertaking. Within transport, changes to vehicle and aircraft technology are likely to be the key drivers of this change, underpinned by a more consistent and comprehensive approach to carbon...

The recent financial crisis has put the spotlight on the rapid rise in credit which preceded it. In this paper, we provide an empirical and theoretical analysis of the credit boom and the macroeconomic context in which it developed. We find that the boom was unusually long and associated with...

In this paper, we present a new model of UK public finances which aims to shed light on recent problems of forecasting the PSBR. The main elements of public spending are treated as endogenous variables which rise in line with GDP over the medium term. Also, the cyclical response of public...

Global economic developments have recently thrown up two major challenges for the setting of UK monetary policy. The recent global financial turmoil threatens to reinforce the slowdown in the UK and globally. But rising energy and commodity prices will push up inflation in the short term, and...

Prior to the global financial crisis of 2008, the UK had the largest banking sector asset to GDP ratio among large countries, and had experienced rapid real property price increases as well as a persistent current account deficit in the preceding decade. These factors, together with its role as...