Is Christine Lagarde a Higgsean?
Peter Klein • Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Well, no, the IMF chief is a moderate Keynesian, like all her Establishment colleagues, and praises the world’s central banks for flooding the globe with cheap money. But she does recognize the critical role of regime uncertainty in hindering recovery:
Lagarde said a number of factors are eroding growth. “At the center of them we clearly see uncertainty — uncertainty about what policymakers can and will deliver on their promises,” she said.
Of course, what she hopes policymakers will deliver is probably different from what most of us are hoping for. But she understands that stable rules are, other things equal, better for growth than bureaucratic discretion.