Robin Brooks Profile picture
Dec 31, 2022 5 tweets 4 min read Read on X
#MMT versus Reality
1. The main #MMT talking point these days is that high inflation doesn't discredit #MMT, because #MMT never said inflation wouldn't go up. That shows how detached the #MMT crew is from reality, as this year's death of #MMT has little to do with inflation...
2. One example is Japan, which still has no inflation to speak of. The Yen went into a devaluation spiral mid-2022 anyway, because high debt forced the BoJ to keep interest rates low, sending the Yen weaker as global yields rose. High debt is a problem even with low inflation...
3. The UK bond market blow-up in September is another example. UK inflation wasn't materially higher than in other advanced economies. What caused the Gilt market blow-up was a poorly articulated fiscal expansion that was debt financed. Again, it wasn't about inflation...
4. Where the #MMT crew gets dangerous is that it dismisses data points unfavorable to its US story. It does this by saying: "The US is special." We are NOT special. The US had a massive bond market tantrum in early 2020 that required huge Fed emergency QE to calm things down...
5. #MMT died in 2022. That's not about inflation. Instead, it's about markets sending many reminders that fiscal space is finite and that - if you do reckless debt run-ups - things can spiral out of control. Every EM economist knows this. The G10 #MMT crew now gets to relearn it.

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More from @robin_j_brooks

Nov 11, 2023
Western gaslighting on Russia sanctions
1. The German word for gaslighting is "Nebelkerze," which means "fog candle." Many western commodity experts and journalists loudly claim the G7 oil price cap can't work, while endorsing financial sanctions on Russia. They're gaslighting... Image
2. It's exactly the other way around. Financial sanctions on Russia can't work, while the G7 cap is the only way to squeeze Putin. We sanctioned some of Russia's banks (red), so money just flows via non-sanctioned banks (blue). Putin still gets ALL the hard currency he wants... Image
3. The driver of Russia's hard currency inflows is the current account surplus. If you sanction some banks, you're just redirecting financial flows. The fix is to sanction ALL banks, which is equivalent to a trade embargo (since Putin can no longer get paid and won't export)... Image
Read 10 tweets
Nov 8, 2023
A. Russia sanctions
1. Financial sanctions on Russia don't work
2. We sanctioned Russia central bank (red)
3. Russia switched to using Gazprombank (blue)
4. Russia still earned the same amount of cash
5. Only way to fix this is to sanction all banks
6. That's like an oil embargo Image
B. Lesson is that you can't hurt a current account surplus country by sanctioning some of its banks. You have to sanction all banks, but that's like a trade embargo, since Putin won't export oil if he can't get paid. The G7 cap recognizes this. It targets the current account... Image
C. People who support financial sanctions and criticize the G7 cap ignore 18 months of data. We have 18 months of sanctions and a G7 cap that was undercut from the beginning. The result: Russia is back to earning big "excess" current account surpluses. Only the G7 cap fixes this. Image
Read 4 tweets
Oct 15, 2023
IMF/WB meetings in Marrakesh
1. Deep gloom beneath the surface. At best, the US is seen as divided and distracted. At worst, it's seen as weak. Wars in Ukraine and Israel are symptoms of this. Many think the US will get tested more and more, so geopolitical risk will keep rising.
2. A meta question that hangs over everything: "What if Trump gets re-elected next year?" Such an outcome is seen as being very negative for Ukraine and Europe. Even if it doesn't happen, Putin and others have every incentive to sow confusion and instability ahead of Nov. 2024...
3. Growing recognition that popular resistance is rising towards funding Ukraine and combatting climate change. Mounting resentment in EM at G10 double standards. For example, Germany fires up coal power plants, even as much of EM gets lectured on the need for a green transition.
Read 8 tweets
Sep 7, 2023
@steve_hanke Argentina has a population of 46 million. El Salvador has a population of 6 million, Panama has 4 million. Both countries are thus much smaller than Argentina, not to mention the fact that El Salvador has much lower per capita GDP. Not good comparators for Argentina at all...
@steve_hanke Ecuador has a population of 18 million, smaller than Argentina but better than the countries you listed. Ecuador - like Argentina - is a commodity exporter, which is key. Falling commodity prices often coincide with a soaring Dollar, which is a double whammy for dollarizers...
@steve_hanke Now let's go back to my chart. Most of Latin America did NOT dollarize. Instead, central banks were made independent, inflation was brought down, currencies were allowed to float and real GDP went up. There is no law of nature that says this cannot also be done in Argentina... Image
Read 6 tweets
Aug 26, 2023
Argentina vs Turkey
1. Argentina and Turkey are at opposite ends of the planet, but have many bad things in common. Turkish Lira was kept artificially strong until the May 28 election, after which it collapsed (orange). Argentina's Peso collapsed after the Aug 13 primary (white). Image
2. This interference in markets is the worst kind of electioneering. This political manipulaton of the economy also shows up in real GDP growth. Similar electoral cycles have given both countries the same boom-bust pattern, even though they're at opposite ends of the planet... Image
3. Where Turkey has the edge on Argentina: it allows its currency to fall vs USD over the medium term, while Argentina keeps trying to peg, with dollarization the latest manifestation of that. Pegs don't work if your policies are bad. Turkey figured that out. Argentina hasn't... Image
Read 6 tweets
Aug 19, 2023
Should Argentina dollarize?
1. Argentina has repeatedly pegged the Peso to USD, a policy that - over and over - ends in massive devaluation and hardship. Dollarization is just the most extreme form of such a peg, so - unfortunately - the current debate is just more of the same... Image
2. What's the problem with EM Dollar pegs (of which Dollarization is just a special case)? EM inflation is above US inflation. If you peg your currency to USD, your real exchange rate inevitably rises & becomes overvalued. That makes explosive devaluation inevitable. See Egypt... Image
3. There are many EMs - not just Argentina - that fall for the siren song of Dollar pegs. In fact, the last few years are a cautionary tale on all this, since Fed hikes made many of these pegs unsustainable. Egypt had to devalue, Pakistan had to devalue, Sri Lanka had to devalue. Image
Read 7 tweets

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