Economics Seminar Series - Sara Stevano: The household and macroeconomics: An unnatural coupling?

You are invited to a seminar by Sara Stevano from SOAS University of London on ‘The household and macroeconomics: An unnatural coupling?’

All welcome! A light lunch will be provided for participants in the seminar.

Register here to attend.

Abstract

Macroeconomic policy abounds with references to households, recognised as important economic actors and recipients of economic policy. For example, the sustainability of household debt is now a core concern for economic policymakers. However, as Pressman puts it, ‘the economic profession has been abysmal at analysing [what goes on in the household].’ Although some branches of economics, such as feminist economics and microeconomics have long studied households and their inner workings, it appears that these insights have not been integrated in macroeconomic theory and policy making.

This paper provides an interdisciplinary conceptualisation of the household, reflects on the visibility of the household in monetary policy and financial regulation in the UK and the reasons why it is important for these policymakers to have a better understanding of the household. The presentation will be based on preliminary findings from document analysis of policy documents, research and speeches produced by the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority in the post-crisis period. This paper draws on research conducted as part of the ESRC Rebuilding Macroeconomics project on ‘Opening the Black-Box of the Household in Macroeconomic Policy Making’ led by Dr Johnna Montgomerie and Dr Ryan Davey.