Freshly printed US$20 notes are processed for bundling and packaging at the US Treasury's Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington, DC, in July 2018. Independent central banks provide a check on governments’ money creation. Photo: AFP Freshly printed US$20 notes are processed for bundling and packaging at the US Treasury's Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington, DC, in July 2018. Independent central banks provide a check on governments’ money creation. Photo: AFP
Freshly printed US$20 notes are processed for bundling and packaging at the US Treasury's Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington, DC, in July 2018. Independent central banks provide a check on governments’ money creation. Photo: AFP
Anthony Rowley
Opinion

Opinion

Macroscope by Anthony Rowley

Unlimited government spending? Modern monetary theory is a seductive but dangerous idea

  • As recession looms and monetary easing options dwindle, the theory that governments can ‘borrow from themselves’ to finance unlimited spending is becoming attractive. But it hinges on complicit central banks buying up government debt

Anthony Rowley
Anthony Rowley

Updated: 11:44pm, 1 Sep, 2019

Why you can trust SCMP
Freshly printed US$20 notes are processed for bundling and packaging at the US Treasury's Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington, DC, in July 2018. Independent central banks provide a check on governments’ money creation. Photo: AFP Freshly printed US$20 notes are processed for bundling and packaging at the US Treasury's Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington, DC, in July 2018. Independent central banks provide a check on governments’ money creation. Photo: AFP
Freshly printed US$20 notes are processed for bundling and packaging at the US Treasury's Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington, DC, in July 2018. Independent central banks provide a check on governments’ money creation. Photo: AFP
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Anthony Rowley

Anthony Rowley

Anthony Rowley is a veteran journalist specialising in Asian economic and financial affairs. He was formerly Business Editor and International Finance Editor of the Hong Kong-based Far Eastern Economic Review and worked earlier on The Times newspaper in London