Skip to main content

Otmar Issing

Otmar Issing

16 commentaries

Otmar Issing, former chief economist and member of the board of the European Central Bank, is Honorary President of the Center for Financial Studies at Goethe University Frankfurt.

Sort by: Show:
  1. Can the ECB Escape Its Own Trap?
    issing16_Andreas RentzGetty Images_christinelagarde Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

    Can the ECB Escape Its Own Trap?

    Jun 7, 2023 Otmar Issing examines the policy dilemma facing central banks as they try to shrink their bloated balance sheets.

  2. The ECB’s Political Overreach
    issing15_Boris Roesslerpicture alliance via Getty Images_ecb Boris Roessler/picture alliance via Getty Images

    The ECB’s Political Overreach

    Jul 27, 2022 Otmar Issing thinks a new asset-purchase program will push the central bank further into a domain where it doesn't belong.

  3. The High Stakes of Rising Inflation
    issing14_OLIVIER DOULIERYAFP via Getty Images_fed reserve inflation OLIVIER DOULIERYAFP via Getty Images

    The High Stakes of Rising Inflation

    Nov 30, 2021 Otmar Issing warns that growing pressure on prices is a global phenomenon, posing a crucial test for central banks.

  4. The Return of Inflation?
    issing13_Getty Images_inflation Getty Images

    The Return of Inflation?

    Jul 16, 2021 Otmar Issing worries that central banks are ignoring potential new sources of upward price pressure and uncertainty.

  5. The MMT Myth
    issing12_matthiashaas_getty Images_printing money mmt Matthias Haas/Getty Images

    The MMT Myth

    Nov 3, 2020 Otmar Issing explains why Modern Monetary Theory amounts to (poisonous) old wine in a new bottle.

  1. fischer224_Chip SomodevillaGetty Images_trumpinauguration Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    Trump at the Gates

    Joschka Fischer urges Europeans to recognize that they are now on their own in an increasingly dangerous world.
  2. stiglitz347_Kevin DietschGettyImages_bye_biden Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

    The End of Progress?

    Joseph E. Stiglitz

    Though the United States has long led the world in advancing basic science and technology, it is hard to see how this can continue under President Donald Trump and the country’s ascendant oligarchy. America’s rejection of Enlightenment values will have dire consequences.

    predicts that Donald Trump’s second administration will be defined by its rejection of Enlightenment values.
  3. varoufakis123_China PhotosGetty Images_chinayuandollar China Photos/Getty Images

    China’s Trump Dilemma

    Yanis Varoufakis

    Will the China hawks in Donald Trump’s administration railroad him into a confrontation that transcends tariffs and embraces financial sanctions of the type the US and the European Union imposed on Russia? If they do, China's leaders will have to decide whether to decouple from the dollar-based international monetary system.

    thinks the real choice facing Chinese leaders may be whether to challenge the dollar's hegemony head-on.
  4. lamy10_Badru KatumbaGettyImages_jackfruit_farmer Badru Katumba/Getty Images

    The Key to Narrowing the Development Gap

    Pascal Lamy, et al. explain how investments in African agri-food systems can advance many of the Sustainable Development Goals.
  5. galbraith39_rudall30Getty Images_businessmanforest rudall30/Getty Images

    Economists’ Way Out of the Wilderness

    James K. Galbraith argues that the continued dominance of nineteenth-century thinking has resulted in a catalogue of failure.
  6. benami221_Justin SullivanGetty Images_trump Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

    Trump the Revolutionary Isolationist

    Shlomo Ben-Ami hears echoes of the Monroe Doctrine in the US president's threats to acquire Greenland.
  7. hubbard4_Chen MengtongChina News ServiceVCG via Getty Images_scottbessent Chen Mengtong/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images

    How the Trump Administration Can Hit Its Growth Target

    Glenn Hubbard urges policymakers to focus on the three pillars of increased productivity.
  8. oneill129_Saul LoebGettyImages_us_treasury Saul Loeb/Getty Images

    Trump’s First Test Will Be the Bond Market

    Jim O'Neill wonders if recent market signals will keep the new administration’s radicalism in check.
  9. ahzhang19_Jaap ArriensNurPhoto via Getty Images_tiktok Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images

    The TikTok Boomerang

    Angela Huyue Zhang thinks the US government's ban on the app has left it in an untenable position.

Edit Newsletter Preferences

Set up Notification

To receive email updates regarding this {entity_type}, please enter your email below.

If you are not already registered, this will create a PS account for you. You should receive an activation email shortly.