CONFERENCE SPEAKERS
£1K TO £2.5K
WIKIPEDIA
TOPICS
Economic Overview, Energy & Sustainability, Social Responsibility
SPEECH TITLES
A Green New Deal
BIOGRAPHY
Ann Pettifor is best known for her leadership of Jubilee 2000 - a worldwide campaign to cancel approximately $100 billion of debts owed by 42 of the poorest countries. She was also one of the first to predict the credit crunch in her 2003 book, The Real World Economic Outlook.
Ann's consultancy firm undertakes research and advises on international finance and sustainable development. They have worked with numerous NGOs, the Global Fund for Aids, the British, Nigerian, Guyanese, Ethiopian and Norwegian governments, and the Queen of Jordan.
Despite some signs of economic recovery, Ann believes that Obama's administration has failed to learn from the 1930s (and Japan in the 90s). She maintains that the lesson of these recessions is the need for a carefully sequenced adjusting of monetary policy, debt management and fiscal policy. Until private output fully returns, there should be still greater public spending.
Ann is co-author of the Green New Deal - a set of policies to deal with the threats posed by credit crunch, 'peak oil' and climate change. She contributes regularly to the Huffington Post, and is now advising a group of churches on their own climate campaign, Operation Noah.
© Copyright JLA: All Rights Reserved
Q&A
JLA: What shape recovery do you envisage?
AP: A very long bath tub.
JLA: Are you optimistic or pessimistic about the economic prospects?
AP: Gloomy. There's a grave threat from 'a monster bubble' in equities, fuelled by the wave of liquidity and low interest rates. My fear is that divisions between central bankers and finance ministries, and between China and America, will weaken the co-ordinated response and there'll be no policy tools left to deal with another systemic failure.
JLA: What has recession taught us about globalisation?
AP: That it can be reversed. Witness China's fixing of her currency, US protectionism (like the tariff on tyres) and capital controls in Brazil. Protectionism is on the rise, and will worsen with further bouts of currency volatility.
JLA: What of the G20's chances of reaching agreement on regulation?
AP: The EU/Anglo-American split makes successful regulation unlikely. The Obama administration has failed to learn from the 1930s (and Japan in the 90s), which show the need for a careful sequencing and adjustment of monetary policy, debt management and fiscal policy.
JLA: How might we fare in the UK?
AP: We will fare disastrously if fiscal stimulus is withdrawn and government spending fails to compensate for the collapse in private output - leading to further falls in sterling. And because of the vast liabilities weighing down banks' balance sheets, further rises in unemployment and home foreclosures pose significant risks to both the housing and banking sectors.