From our Board Members
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Can Diaspora Bonds Supercharge Development Investment?
Article by Aleksandr V. Gevorkyan
Over the past two decades one of the most intriguing ideas in development finance has been the proposal that developing nations can raise substantial funds from their expatriate communities by creating diaspora bonds. Recently, the economic fallout from the COVID-19 public-health crisis and subsequent sudden exit of foreign capital from emerging markets have reignited interest in the search for alternative development funding. Raising funds from diasporas via the bond, a fixed-income financial instrument, is high on the list again…
Do inflation expectations even matter anymore?
Blog Post by Edward Harrison
We got a big CPI print today, 5.0%. That’s above expectations. And, we saw a mild uptick in US Treasury bond yields on the back of the number. But I am wondering whether it really matters. Let me explain.
Yesterday, after posting on the death of the so-called bond vigilantes, I was talking to my friend J. And I told her that, back in February, I had been writing about my concerns regarding inflation expectations becoming unanchored. In our conversation, I referred to these comments:
this [rise in yields] is the market frontrunning the Fed based on expectations about real GDP growth or inflation or both. The market is essentially signalling concerns that nominal GDP is going higher and that yields need to move in that direction to either protect against inflation or because the Fed will act with a lag.
… I am more concerned about inflation this time than I was last time [in 2018]. I don’t think it is a secular issue, but it could be a cyclical one. With commodity prices rising and pent-up demand potentially buoying prices further still once enough people are vaccinated, we could see an even steeper sell off in bonds as inflation expectations rise. I remember being less concerned about that in 2018.
A Georgist perspective for addressing San Francisco’s budget shortfalls.
To Plug Budget Hole, San Francisco Should Look to the Past
By Ibrahima Drame and Alan Tonelson
INTRODUCTION
Although its economy and therefore budget situation have brightened faster than expected since the worst of the Covid 19 pandemic, and the new American Rescue Act will actually wipe out most of its short-term deficit, like most American states and cities, San Francisco’s fiscal challenges are far from over. Indeed, without major policy changes, the city can expect a future dominated by bad financial choices for controlling its chronic budget shortfalls: broad-brush growth-killing tax hikes, deep services cuts, or some combination of both. Just as important, the resulting vise will do little more than keep San Francisco running in place. Most hopes for addressing pressing unmet needs will be squeezed out…
More from our Board of Trustees
Alan Tonelson
Aleksandr V. Gevorkyan
Edward Harrison
Edward J. Nell
James Cusick
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