‘To hell with it. Let’s get the money out there’: Paul Krugman on Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

China’s proposed $50bn Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank could become the largest emerging market funding-vehicle in the region and globally

February 6, 2015
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Transcript

World Finance speaks to Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize-winning op-ed columnist and economist, about the merits of China’s proposed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

China has cemented its status as a global financial heavyweight, but many wonder whether the advent of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is giving the country a new title, and that’s as the World’s lender. Well that’s a question that World Finance posed to Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman at the latest Asian Financial Forum.
Paul Krugman: This issue about regional banks stepping in and to some extent supplanting or supplementing the Washington based institutions, sure. Anything that supplies more money where it might be useful is a good thing.

There was a time way back when, when the US tried to block that because we had various reasons, but we really just sort of wanted the stuff run from Washington, but not now. The hell with it, let’s get the money out there, and if it’s a way to recycle funds within Asia that’s good.