Between Debt and the Devil
Between Debt and the Devil challenges the belief that we need credit growth to fuel economic growth, and that rising debt is okay as long as inflation remains low. To escape the mess created by past policy errors, we sometimes need to monetize government debt and finance fiscal deficits with central-bank money. This book shows why we need to reject the assumptions that private credit is essential to growth and fiat money is inevitably dangerous. Each has its advantages, and each creates risks that public policy must consciously balance.
Praise for Between Debt and the Devil
"These provocative and insightful arguments are particularly valuable at a time when austerity retains its intellectual luster despite its manifest failures."
— Andrew Moravcsik, Foreign Affairs
"[A] scintillating individual [contribution] to the debate not just on the future of finance but how we should run our economy."
— Felix Martin, New Statesman
"Turner is more than just another thinker merrily seeking to provoke his audience; he is an experienced British policymaker accustomed to weighing up the angles. Between Debt and the Devil is as good as it can be, an overdue challenge to a taboo against monetary finance held sacred for too long."
— Giles Wilkes, Financial Times
"This is an important book because Turner thinks clearly where much analysis has been fuzzy. A stimulating book."
— Ben Chu, The Independent
"This book lays down a challenge which subsequent accounts of monetary policy will have to address."
— David Willetts, Prospect
"Adair Turner, the former chairman of Britain's Financial Services Authority and described by The Economist as a man for all policy crises, upends financial orthodoxy in Between Debt and the Devil. He argues that nothing regulators have done thus far has addressed the fundamental underlying cause of financial instability. Turner's book is tightly argued and is packed with insights about the financial markets as well as the real economy."
— Brenda Jubin, Investing.com