Patrick Honohan

Patrick Honohan

@phonohan.bsky.social

Former Governor, Central Bank of Ireland. @PIIE.com; @tcdeconomics.bsky.social; @CEPR.org

886 followers62 following36 posts

Patrick Honohan
@phonohan.bsky.social

I like the Great Europeans for the new euro banknotes. I also like the birds, but they are inextricably linked with the Kafkaesque office buildings. So for me it has to be be Callas, Curie, Leonardo and …

European Central Bank@ecb.europa.eu

Ten selected design proposals for the next series of euro banknotes have been unveiled. Explore the proposals and tell us which ones you prefer. Have your say surveys.ecb.europa.eu/10b/ecbeuro/

Patrick Honohan
@phonohan.bsky.social

This idea from @dsquareddigest.bsky.social looks like a better approach for Ireland too of resolving the planning gridlock that discourages and delays housing and infrastructure projects. @ronanlyons.bsky.social @davidmcwecon.bsky.social

Stephen Bush@stephenkb.bsky.social

Terrific report on that by @dsquareddigest.bsky.social for Labour Together, this:

labourtogether.ukBuild the rail! Save the snails! — Labour TogetherWhy does British infrastructure cost so much? This paper, by economist Dan Davies, argues that Britain’s adversarial planning system forces developers to gold-plate solutions to hypothetical problems....
Patrick Honohan
@phonohan.bsky.social

How much capital do central banks really have? My new @piie.com paper provides the calculation for twenty countries. There are some surprises.

Peterson Institute for International Economics@piie.com

Central banks are incurring losses, @phonohan.bsky.social writes, because of impact of rising interest rates on their maturity mismatched portfolios & losses on foreign exchange reserves accumulated attempting to avoid currency overvaluation. But comparing experiences is not straightforward.

piie.comHow much capital do central banks really have?Twenty or more of the world’s most significant central banks have seen their equity position (or capital and reserves) go negative in the last few years. This novel situation does not fundamentally ch...
Patrick Honohan
@phonohan.bsky.social

On the other hand, mysterious non-standard notional assets appear in the accounts of others, obscuring their true negative marked-to-market condition. My @PIIE blog post highlights this for four leading central banks. (A working paper covering another twenty is coming soon).

Patrick Honohan
@phonohan.bsky.social

Studying the macroeconomic policy questions of Ireland over the past fifty years (with many colleagues) has been fascinating. The black hole of MNC profit repatriation, stabilizing the fiscal accounts, migration and unemployment, wealth inequality and financial crisis: there’s no better laboratory.

The Economic and Social Review@econsocrev.bsky.social

The Spring edition of the ESR is now available. This issue is based upon a special conference in honour of @phonohan.bsky.social. It features 3 papers relating to fiscal, growth and financial sector policy as well as articles in response from a panel of experts and... www.esr.ie/index.php/es...

Patrick Honohan
@phonohan.bsky.social

Interesting combination and seasonal timing for this podcast from @bruegel.bsky.social

Bruegel@bruegel.org

Happy #StPatricksDay! ☘️ Today, we dive into Ireland’s journey from crisis to confidence. @rebeccawire.bsky.social speaks with Eamon Gilmore, former Foreign Minister, and @phonohan.bsky.social on Ireland’s recovery, housing crisis, and global role. #EconSky

buff.lyIreland’s journey from crisis to confidenceA conversation on Ireland’s economic recovery, housing crisis, and international role

Patrick Honohan reposted

Peterson Institute for International Economics
@piie.com

Ireland collects much of the corporate tax revenue a more coherent US tax code would channel back across the Atlantic. Ireland could also be in the firing line as a major & growing contributor to the US trade deficit—now 4th in the world. By @phonohan.bsky.social: www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2025...

irishtimes.comPatrick Honohan: Ireland is more exposed to Trump’s tariff war than any other European countryWithout turning away from the United States, it is vital for Ireland to remain unambiguously and progressively engaged in collective action in support of Europe
Patrick Honohan
@phonohan.bsky.social

Disappointing indeed. International regulatory collaboration is needed to help prevent climate damage from the financial sector.

Uuree Batsaikhan@uureeb.bsky.social

While California burns & Florida drowns @federalreserve.bsky.social is exiting NGFS. While it did not have much enthusiasm to start with, it is a sign that US is not willing to work with rest of the world on climate ⛔️ grim start to 4-year misery to begin today www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/p...

federalreserve.govFederal Reserve Board announces it has withdrawn from the Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for Greening the Financial System (NGFS)The Federal Reserve Board on Friday announced it has withdrawn from the Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for Greening the Financial System (NGFS). Whi
Patrick Honohan
@phonohan.bsky.social

And one sector provides an interesting exception to the lackluster 2019-2024 sectoral real earnings growth in Ireland. It's the Information and Communication sector (shown below as IT), already with relatively high weekly earnings and still racing ahead as it has for many years.

Patrick Honohan
@phonohan.bsky.social

If it's economics that drives voting in general elections, the question for Ireland today is whether it's microeconomics or macro. (See the NYT piece by @fotoole). These graphs quantify the contrast between rocketing aggregate employment growth and below peak average real earnings.

Fintan O'Toole@fotoole.bsky.social

Ireland on the eve of the general election www.nytimes.com/2024/11/27/o...

nytimes.comOpinion | Ireland Is Rich. That Doesn’t Mean It’s Happy.There are the same dark subplots here that have made the position of other incumbent governments so precarious.
Patrick Honohan
@phonohan.bsky.social

Good points made by @luigaricano. In addition, these restrictions that the ECB is proposing for its CBDC (maximum balance, interest rate) will prevent it anchoring a payments system independent of US jurisdiction…

Antonio Fatas@antoniofatas.bsky.social

Very interesting analysis by @lugaricano.bsky.social on the poorly designed digital Euro project. One additional issue: the dual role of bank accounts as balances for payments ("money") and savings. ECB trying to do some of the first but none of the second. Not obvious to me.

Patrick Honohan reposted

Romesh Vaitilingam
@econromesh.bsky.social

The global financial crisis had a huge impact on Ireland, with soaring unemployment & a big rise in public debt with the bank bailouts; but the economy has bounced back strongly since 2012, mainly due to globalisation & FDI @econ-observatory.bsky.social www.economicsobservatory.com/how-did-irel...

economicsobservatory.comHow did Ireland recover so strongly from the global financial crisis? - Economics ObservatoryThe global financial crisis of 2007-09 had a huge impact on Ireland, with soaring unemployment and a big rise in public debt as the government bailed out the country’s banks. But the Irish economy has...
Patrick Honohan
@phonohan.bsky.social

Economists working on Ireland. Great idea Rebecca, thanks!

Rebecca Stuart@rebstuart.bsky.social

I made a starter pack of Irish economists and economists interested in Ireland. It’s still sparse, but I’ll add to it as people join. Let me know if you would like to be added or have any suggestions. go.bsky.app/UweG3ib

Patrick Honohan
@phonohan.bsky.social

What a change globalization brought for Ireland. This annual data going back eighty years shows how, when fiscal policy was brought under control and globalization got under way in the early 1990s, the dynamics of the Irish economy changed utterly.

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