Prof. Richard Werner.

The Japanese economy out-performed most other economies in the half century until 1990. However, since about 1992 it has fallen into a severe recession which has, despite temporary recoveries, lasted for over two decades. In this talk the fundamental cause of both the bubble economy of the 1980s and the long recession since will be discussed, as well as the role played by the Japanese central bank and its key figures. The motivation of the central bank will be explored, as well as measures to end the recession. The Japanese experience is compared to that in Europe, and lessons for the world will be drawn.

Professor Richard A Werner, born in Germany in 1967, holds a B.Sc. in Economics from the London School of Economics and a doctorate in economics from the University of Oxford. He is a Member of Linacre College, Oxford, and has also studied at the University of Tokyo. Richard has been Professor of International Banking at the University of Southampton for over twelve years. He is founding director of its Centre for Banking, Finance and Sustainable Development, which is the first research centre to focus on the link between the financial sector and sustainability issues. He is also a member of the ECB Shadow Council and founding chair of Local First, a community interest company establishing not-for-profit community banks in the UK. His recommended charity is the Association for Research on Banking and the Economy (arbe.org.uk).

Richard previously was a professor of monetary, macro and development economics at Frankfurt University and tenured assistant professor at Sophia University, Tokyo. He has also taught development finance and sustainability at Moscow State University. His work experience includes over four years as highly rated chief economist at Jardine Fleming Securities (Asia) Ltd., a stint as Senior Managing Director at Bear Stearns Asset Management Ltd., many years managing global macro funds, several years as senior consultant to the Asian Development Bank and periods as visiting scholar and visiting researcher at the Japanese Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Japan, respectively. He was also the first Shimomura Fellow at the Development Bank of Japan.

In 1992, while European Commission Fellow at Oxford University's Institute for Economics and Statistics, Richard proposed the disaggregation of credit and its impact on asset markets and growth with his ‘Quantity Theory of Credit’ (see page). In 1995, he advanced the concept of ‘quantitative easing’ in Japan (published in the leading daily newspaper, the Nikkei, on 2 September 1995). His book ‘Princes of the Yen’ was a No. 1 bestseller in Japan and warned of the coming creation of credit bubbles and banking crises in the eurozone. So did his 2005 book ‘New Paradigm in Macroeconomics’ (Palgrave Macmillan). In 2014, Richard published the first empirical proof of the fact that banks create money out of nothing when they grant loans. The World Economic Forum, Davos, selected him as “Global Leader for Tomorrow” in 2003.

Co-organised with Department of Economics and Japan Economy Network

Speaker(s):

Prof. Richard Werner, Dr Ulrich Volz

Event Date:

7 December 2016

Released by:

SOAS Economics Podcast