The End of Alchemy: Money, Banking and the Future of the Global Economy? - Lord Mervyn King (Governor of the Bank of England, 2003-2013)

The Global Governance Institute will host Lord Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England from 2003-2013, on 10 May 2016 at UCL. Lord Mervyn will talk about his book in conversation with Prof David Tuckett, Head of the Centre for the Study of Decision-Making Uncertainty at UCL in the Faculty of Brain Sciences. This will be followed by Q&A and book-signing. The event is open to all, but to avoid disappointment, please Register.

In his book ‘The End of Alchemy: Money, Banking and the Future of Global Economy’ (Published by Little Brown on 3rd March 2016, £25), Lord Mervyn argues for fundamental changes to the financial system in order to reduce the risk of a new crisis.

The past twenty years saw unprecedented growth and stability followed by the worst financial crisis the industrialized world has ever witnessed. In the space of little more than a year what had been seen as the age of wisdom was viewed as the age of foolishness. Almost overnight, belief turned into incredulity.

Most accounts of the recent crisis focus on the symptoms and not the underlying causes of what went wrong. But those events, vivid though they remain in our memories, comprised only the latest in a long series of financial crises since our present system of commerce became the cornerstone of modern capitalism. The End of Alchemy explains why, ultimately, this was and remains a crisis not of banking - even if we need to reform the banking system - nor of policy-making - even if mistakes were made - but of ideas.

In this refreshing and vitally important book, former governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King - an actor in this drama - proposes revolutionary new concepts to answer the central question: are money and banking a form of Alchemy or are they the Achilles’ heel of a modern capitalist economy?

Advance praise for The End of Alchemy

‘I have read umpteen books about the financial crisis of 2007-2008 and its lessons. This is the cleverest one, brimming over with new ideas. While other ‘lords of finance’ publish memoirs, King has produced a brilliant analysis not only of what went wrong in the global financial system, but also of what went wrong in economics itself’. Niall Ferguson

‘Mervyn King may well have written the most important book to come out of the financial crisis. From his extraordinary perspective as a brilliant economist who made policy at the highest level, he issues a clarion call for new ideas and new policies, and then delivers. Agree or disagree, King’s arguments deserve the attention of everyone from economics students to heads of state’. Lawrence H. Summers

‘Drawing on years of scholarly study of banking history and his real world experience in fighting financial panic, Mervyn King has set out a new framework for monetary and financial reform. Seemingly simple in concept, it challenges prevailing banking and market practice. The End of Alchemy demands debate and a well-reasoned response’. Paul A. Volcker

‘A sophisticated and highly approachable study of how modern finance has lost its way. Few individuals are more qualified than Lord Mervyn King to imagine the banking of the future. His book should be required reading’. Henry Kissinger

‘Mervyn King asks, ‘Why has almost every industrialised country found it difficult to overcome the stagnation that followed the financial crisis in 2007-2008, and why did money and banking, the alchemists of a market economy, turn into its Achilles heel?’ He addresses these questions, and much more. For those endeavouring to understand the greatest financial crisis of our time and the future of finance, this highly provocative book is a must read’. Alan Greenspan

Lord Mervyn King was Governor of the Bank of England from 2003 to 2013, and is currently Professor of Economics and Law at New York University and School Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics. Lord King was made a life peer in 2013, and appointed by the Queen a Knight of the Garter in 2014.