The International Financial Architecture

My speech to the Meeting of Finance Ministers of Latin America in Quito on November 29th 2013. I explain Keynes's proposal for an international unit of account called the Bancor, and support Zhou Xiaochuan, the Governor of the Central Bank of China, in calling for its introduction. I also argue that Latin America should in the meantime develop its own unit of account for intra-CELAC trade.

[@heckler73]

Fantastic presentation, Professor.

[@timmyasikin9378]

Very important information thank you

[@Stupidityindex]

Best public speaking yet. You slowed down & dumbed down message enough so an old Dalek like me can follow. Thanks. Gar Alperovitz Straight Talk About the "Next American Revolution"

[@crowtheri]

Great presentation Steve. We must produce an internationally agreed reserve currency, and divorce ourselves away from nationally based currency i.e. the USD. Every country should be able to borrow internationally via a Unitas monetary system or the bancor as you call it. This seems eminently sensible. Looks like keynes was correct, and the Americans desire for control has ultimately backfired on them. The imbalances we see in exporting countries hoarding the USD, is unbelievable and creates speculative bubbles. See you next friday! @BankersRock

[@thedigitalcontractor]

Block chain

[@ainsleyto]

I'm struggling to understand the self balancing mechanics on surplus and deficit countries and was wondering if you could help - How does a surplus of Bancor reserves in surplus countries lead them to increase imports? And what would stop domestic central banks of deficit countries printing their currency to buy Bancor (or SDRs) when they are low, avoiding the borrowing of Bancor and the restraint the debt servicing would have on running further deficits Thanks again for the video - thoroughly enjoyed Debunking Economics and looking forward to the new book.

[@herzwatithink9289]

Professor Keen, your jokes are MUCH better when they're done on the fly, in the moment. I speak as someone for whom, I think, this too applies. Otherwise, great talk as always!

[@ProfSteveKeen]

Thanks Herz, but spontaneous jokes don't go over as well to a Spanish/Portuguese speaking audience with simultaneous translation. So for once I had to take the canned laughter approach.

[@herzwatithink9289]

ProfSteveKeen You're right. Having lived in Spain for a year, I suggest that for the most part the sardonic is a foreign language to our Latin cousins, and that the only "amusing" Anglo-Germano-Celt is one who has imbibed no less than several beers! Anyway, loving the revisionist stuff that you, Wolff, Hudson and co are starting to get real traction with, it is long overdue! Perhaps out of all of this we find ourselves standing on the precipice: where real economics - intellectual rendering of the interplay between coexisting energy systems - may finally come to be crowned the Total science, man's Defining science, the ultimate synthesis between the natural and the theoretical. Perhaps this was Keynes' dream. It certainly beats the infernal merry-go-round of theories about theories about theories, which you so eloquently admonish. Indeed, would that your wider brethren generally were cognizant of the fact that though their constructs be intellectual, this does not preclude the need for some brass bloody tacks! Anyway enough blabbering, please keep up the great work!

[@leo333333able]

Great stuff.

[@infinummjb]

@11:00- either money is a token that finalizes all transactions an so is not credit or it is a promise to pay i.e. IOU and therefore credit. It can not be both ways. Besides there does not have to be a hierarchy in the payment system - it can be a network of majority votes like those used in Bitcoin (commodity) or Ripple (credit).

[@infinummjb]

***** True and the reverse may also be true. For example I do not accept USD and JPY as a payment for my services so no one can settle debt with me using those IOUs. I do accept BTC and XRP though.

[@infinummjb]

And if you were in jail you would pay with cigarettes even though you might not even smoke. Money is what goes at a moment in a particular place. The more things one can use as money the more economic freedom one has and the more stable one's wealth is.

[@infinummjb]

In other words in your worldview money is what a guy with a gun says it is. In mine it is what people voluntarily agree it is. In that light my point about individual freedom stands very firmly.

[@infinummjb]

***** And I pressume you consider Bitcoin or Ripple to not be political, right? ;)

[@infinummjb]

***** For the most part of the monetary history of man, yes, but now you are preaching to the choir. EOT.

[@Senvirr]

amazing

[@DavidAKZ]

Currency valuation linked to ...? @ 15:30

[@vinitas1558]

Is not Euro similar to CELAC proposed by you why did it fail, same limitations would be applicable to CELAC too?

[@CodeNameDoug]

Code Name D's second law of economics: The economy is always in recovery.