Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)

Two high-profile London-based investment management firms used their March 2019 client quarterly updates to highlight what they consider to be the looming danger of potential MMT implementation in UK policy under a Corbyn-led Labour government. The theory has already had substantial exposure in American politics: Bernie Sanders’s 2016 campaign sought the advice of MMT advocate Stephanie Kelton; recently-elected Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has invoked the theory as a means of financing the “Green New Deal” proposals, Medicare-for-all and a federal jobs guarantee-policies dismissed by many Democrats in 2016 but now mainstream thinking throughout their 2020 presidential primary field. MMT is increasingly broadening its reach into UK & European policy thinking – a recent report on the Thomson Reuters website highlighted how the phrase “MMT” is now more frequently searched on Google than “ECB”.