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Against the Consensus: Reflections on the Great Recession

284 views · Published 2 December 2013 · 1:24:51 · Indexed 13 October 2026

Channel: Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKY School) · 2013 · Education

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Prof Lin is the World Bank's first Chief Economist to be appointed from the developing world. As his tenure began June 2008, he had a front row seat to the financial crash — and he believes current measures to prevent another crash are not enough.

In Against the Consensus (Cambridge University Press, 2013), Prof Lin offers an unorthodox perspective on the cause of the financial crisis; why it was so serious and widespread, and its likely evolution. While many point to East Asian economies as the cause of the crisis — due to their export-oriented strategies, accumulation of foreign reserves as self-insurance, and especially the undervaluation of Chinese currency — Lin instead argues that the combination of financial deregulation in the US and loose monetary policy ultimately triggered the housing bubble and its meltdown.

"Instead of simply putting out one fiscal fire after another in sovereign debt crisis countries through emergency IMF financing and other rescue packages, the G20 should provide parallel funds to multilateral development banks, including the World Bank and regional development banks, with the capacity to design and implement infrastructure investment projects," says Prof Lin.

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Event: Against the Consensus: Reflections on the Great Recession

Speaker: Prof Justin Yifu Lin, Professor and Honorary Dean, National School of Development, Peking University

Date: Tuesday, 12 November 2013 
Time: 5:15 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

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