As recession looms, could MMT be the unorthodox solution? | Larry Elliott

The modern monetary theory debate is welcome in a world laying bare the constraints of conventional policy

The last few months of 2018 saw a real bout of jitters in the financial markets. Growth was slowing everywhere and share prices were in full retreat. There were fears that this was the start of Global Financial Crisis 2.0.

In the end, central banks managed to calm things down. The US Federal Reserve abandoned plans for increases in interest rates, the European Central Bank put back the date at which it expects to start raising the cost of borrowing, the Bank of Japan left rates negative and the People's Bank of China eased lending constraints on commercial banks.