The movie plays on: a lens for viewing the global economy

Speech by Mr Claudio Borio, Head of the Monetary and Economic Department of the BIS, at the FT Debt Capital Markets Outlook, London, 10 February 2016.

BIS speech  | 
10 February 2016
by Claudio Borio

Abstract

This presentation suggests an alternative lens through which to view the global economy's struggle to achieve sustainable and balanced growth, reflecting a failure to prevent the build-up and collapse of hugely damaging financial booms and busts. A symptom of the current malaise can be seen in interest rates that have been exceptionally low for an exceptionally long time, with a record high amount of global sovereign debt trading at negative yields. To break out of this trap, there is a need to take a longer-term view and rebalance policies towards structural measures, abandoning the debt-fuelled growth model that has brought us to the current predicament.