Too little is made of the fact that financial market institutions have been underprepared to measure, manage and price high-impact risks; indeed decision makers are actively rewarded for underestimating risks associated with low-probability events. Nassim Nicholas Taleb (left)and George A Martin (right) explain.
Latest articles from Viewpoint
The spectre of latin american inflation
September 3, 2007Felipe Larraín assesses whether policies by certain Latin American populist governments could undermine present price stability and usher in a return of the high inflations of the 1980s.
Mind the value gap
September 3, 2007In India, long-term value is being left on the table as environmental, social and governance issues are ignored. But these issues will be increasingly important competitive differentiators, writes Dan Siddy.
Why london should learn tolove brussels
September 3, 2007High standards of governance will be essential to convince local investors to participate in the regional financial centres that are springing up around the world. And London looks set to benefit from business with those centres as they adopt EU-style regulations, writes Brandon Davies.
Nurturing a public private partnership
September 3, 2007On its 25th anniversary, the Institute of International Finance is well placed to facilitate a new world order involving the sharing of responsibility for global financial stability between multinational financial services firms and governmental institutions, say Dr Josef Ackermann (left) and Charles H Dallara (right).
A new paradigm
September 3, 2007Pakistan is implementing a new development paradigm for the country’s banking sector with the aim of bringing the country’s poor and rural population into the system, writes Dr Shamshad Akhtar.
Responsible growth benefits all of society
August 1, 2007Brazil’s approach to economic stability has a strong social priority, with lower inflation and greater job creation benefiting even the poorest citizens, says Henrique de Campos Meirelles.
Greater EU presence on the world stage
July 2, 2007As Portugal takes over the EU presidency, the country’s president, Professor Aníbal Cavaco Silva, stresses the need, among other things, for Europe to assert itself as an effective and influential global performer.
Regulator academy
June 4, 2007The establishment of a school for financial regulation in London should attract students from around the world eager to learn about the UK’s principles-based oversight model, says Mervyn Davies.
Argentina needs soft approach to inflation
May 7, 2007In Argentina’s delicate post-crisis economic landscape, inflation targeting isn’t the answer, central bank policy needs to reflect the transitional phase of the Argentine economy, says Martín Redrado.