The politics of quantitative easing and housing stimulus by the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank, 2008‒2018

Abstract

Central banks have been important yet underexplored actors in the fight against the Great Recession. In addition to ultra-low interest rates, they adopted large-scale bond-buying programmes known as quantitative easing (QE). Yet there is significant variation in QE programmes with important distributive consequences. Why has the Fed adopted multi-trillion-dollar bond-buying programmes in housing, while the ECB has not? This article argues that the Fed targeted the integrated housing finance market as a monetary transmission strategy to stimulate core elements of the US growth model: credit, demand, and consumption. In contrast, the ECB hardly stimulated housing given the eurozone’s fragmented housing finance markets and the macroeconomic frictions with some eurozone growth models, particularly export-oriented Germany. Analysing archival and interview data, this article traces the decisions of these central banks since the Great Recession, contributing to scholarship on the politics of central banking, economic policy in hard times, and the welfare state.     

Levelling Up the UK: If not the Conservatives,will Labour Learn the Lessons from Past Policy Failings?

This article considers the levelling-up agenda in the UK, examining the Johnson government's original proposals to tackle regional and local inequality and its continuation under new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak following the short-lived premiership of Liz Truss. The 2022 Levelling Up in the United Kingdom White Paper is notable for the frank and wholesale critique it provides of previous governments’—both Tory and Labour—efforts to address the pressing issue of geographic inequality. The assessment was that a pattern of ad hoc and incoherent reforms needed to be replaced by a stable, long term and system-wide approach to change. Yet, under Johnson, Truss and now Sunak, policy churn is continuing, with an approach that falls short in following the lessons set out in the White Paper. We provide a detailed analysis of the government's critique of past reforms, the lessons it has set out and why its reform programme is likely to repeat past failings. Crucially, the approach leaves the structure of central government almost untouched, with substantive reforms instead focussed at the local governance level. We argue the government's programme perpetuates the ‘power-hoarding’ tendencies of the Westminster model, a key bulwark against meaningfully addressing the UK's spatial inequality problem. We conclude that the levelling-up agenda, missions and targets are unlikely to be met under Rishi Sunak, reflecting the endemic nature of short-termism and centralisation of power in the UK's public policy approach. We then consider the approach of Starmer's Labour Party to levelling up and the issues it needs to confront if it forms the next government.     

Fatal paradoxical air embolism diagnosed by postmortem imaging and autopsy

The recognition and visualization of an arterial gas embolism are difficult. We report a case of sudden death caused by paradoxical air embolism of coronary and cerebral arteries, diagnosed by the pre autopsy computed tomography (CT) scanning. A 54-year-old woman suddenly died after the self-removal of the jugular vein catheter. Postmortem imaging examination using CT scanning showed multiple gas embolisms in the cerebral arteries, pulmonary artery, right atrium and ventricle, left ventricle, aorta, and coronary arteries. These findings suggested that the occurrence of acute ischemia of the brain and heart caused by massive air inflow to the artery. Conventional autopsy revealed a patent foramen ovale of the heart. These results indicated that the patient died of paradoxical air embolization of the coronary and cerebral arteries through a patent foramen ovale because of right-to-left shunting. The use of postmortem imaging as an aid for conventional autopsy has proved to be of advantage in the case of gas embolism.     

中央与地方关系法治化之基本问题研讨

对于中央和地方关系的处理,有必要采用理论创新和制度创新相结合之新途径进行分析,从探讨"中央与地方关系法治化"的命题高度出发,高屋建瓴对影响我国中央与地方关系的现实问题予以研究。在处理中央与地方关系中涉及的地方自治和垂直管理等问题上,应该通过宪法和其他宪法性法律坚定不移又循序渐进地推行和拓展地方自治制度,并严格控制垂直管理的设定,从而使我国中央与地方权力划分和关系处理中充分体现现代法治精神。     

浅谈笔迹线条主动触觉在笔迹鉴定中的运用

笔迹是书写运动的轨迹,在观察静态特征的同时运用其动态特征,无疑可以提高笔迹鉴定的水平。但如何获取字迹的书写压力、书写速度和加速度等动态特征,目前还是个难题。笔迹心理学中笔迹线条主动触觉的分析是将笔迹书写时的压力与速度贯穿于字迹观察分析的始终,将其运用于笔迹鉴定,可在传统的笔迹鉴定二维平面字迹特征的视觉观察分析模式基础上,将视觉观察与触觉体验相结合,形成字迹形态二维平面特征与书写时笔向下的力度,和沿笔画书写的速度相结合的四维特征观察分析模式。     

沈钧儒地方自治思想探析

地方自治思想是沈钧儒宪政思想的重要内容,沈钧儒一贯主张地方分权,认为地方自治是宪政实施的基础。在民国时期,基于反对独裁、反对专制、反对中央集权的立场,他拥护联省自治,提倡地方选举。在抗战期间,他主张实现地方自治是保证抗战胜利的条件,呼吁厉行地方自治。他对于地方权限的范围、中央与地方的均权模式等问题也进行过深入思考。沈钧儒主张地方自治,并不是反对国家统一,更不是要分裂国家。他希望建立一个在统一主权之下,以地方自治为基础的宪政共和国。     

以科学的金融发展观指导基层央行工作

树立科学的金融发展观对做好基层央行工作至关重要。基层央行只有围绕经济发展这个第一要务,确立科学的工作思路,努力维护区域金融稳定,提高金融服务质量,才能提高金融运行的经济效益、社会效益,推动区域经济全面、协调发展。     

浅析我国立法权限划分的几个问题

我国人大与其常委会、人大与行政机关、中央与地方之间的立法权限划分上存在不明确或不合理等一些问题。本文在前人研究的基础上提出了自己的些许浅见。     

地方经济立法简论

地方经济立法是国家建立的具体的宪法制度的一个方面和应然内容,属于地方立法范畴,具有地方性、特色性.作为地方立法的内容构成和工作重点,地方经济立法是法律发挥引导、规范、保障和促进经济社会协调发展功能的不可或缺的重要环节和重要条件,发挥着补充完善、具体细化,具体实施、贯彻执行,铺垫先导、实验创新等作用.搞好地方经济立法,应当坚持时代精神、自主创新、和谐统一、人权保障的基本原则.     

建设学习型政党的理论基础

马克思主义经典作家马克思、恩格斯和列宁关于重视理论学习的思想,是建设学习型政党的根本理论依据;以毛泽东为代表的中国共产党人,在继承经典作家相关思想的基础上所形成的一系列重视理论学习的思想,是建设学习型政党的重要理论基础;改革开放以来党的历届中央领导集体关于马克思主义理论学习的思想,是建设学习型政党的直接理论基础。