Patrick Honohan
phonohan.bsky.social
Patrick Honohan
@phonohan.bsky.social
Former Governor, Central Bank of Ireland. @PIIE.com; @TCDeconomics; @CEPR.org
Mackerel sky, Dublin tonight.
August 9, 2025 at 9:53 PM
How much capital do central banks really have? My new
@piie.com paper provides the calculation for twenty countries. There are some surprises.
Central banks are incurring losses, @phonohan.bsky.social writes, because of impact of rising interest rates on their maturity mismatched portfolios & losses on foreign exchange reserves accumulated attempting to avoid currency overvaluation. But comparing experiences is not straightforward.
How much capital do central banks really have?
Twenty or more of the world’s most significant central banks have seen their equity position (or capital and reserves) go negative in the last few years. This novel situation does not fundamentally ch...
www.piie.com
July 7, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Central bank accounting is not standardised, making their financial condition hard to compare. www.piie.com/blogs/realti...
How much money have central banks really lost?
Central banks experienced widespread financial losses over the last three years. The problem has been most severe at banks whose balance sheets were bloated in the years of low interest rates and quan...
www.piie.com
July 1, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Studying the macroeconomic policy questions of Ireland over the past fifty years (with many colleagues) has been fascinating. The black hole of MNC profit repatriation, stabilizing the fiscal accounts, migration and unemployment, wealth inequality and financial crisis: there’s no better laboratory.
The Spring edition of the ESR is now available. This issue is based upon a special conference in honour of @phonohan.bsky.social. It features 3 papers relating to fiscal, growth and financial sector policy as well as articles in response from a panel of experts and...
www.esr.ie/index.php/es...
April 17, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Given the (strange) way yesterday's new US tariffs were calculated, Ireland escapes a much higher tariff (42%) by being included in the EU (20%).
April 3, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Interesting combination and seasonal timing for this podcast from @bruegel.bsky.social
Happy #StPatricksDay! ☘️

Today, we dive into Ireland’s journey from crisis to confidence.
@rebeccawire.bsky.social speaks with Eamon Gilmore, former Foreign Minister, and @phonohan.bsky.social on Ireland’s recovery, housing crisis, and global role.
#EconSky
Ireland’s journey from crisis to confidence
A conversation on Ireland’s economic recovery, housing crisis, and international role
buff.ly
March 17, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Reposted by Patrick Honohan
Ireland collects much of the corporate tax revenue a more coherent US tax code would channel back across the Atlantic. Ireland could also be in the firing line as a major & growing contributor to the US trade deficit—now 4th in the world. By @phonohan.bsky.social: www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2025...
Patrick Honohan: Ireland is more exposed to Trump’s tariff war than any other European country
Without turning away from the United States, it is vital for Ireland to remain unambiguously and progressively engaged in collective action in support of Europe
www.irishtimes.com
February 10, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Through Waterford-born Nobel prize-winning Physicist Ernest Walton (1903-95), Ireland has a better claim than the United States to having been the first (along with New Zealander Ernest Rutherford and Englishman John Cockroft), to have "split the atom". www.atomicarchive.com/history/manh...
The Atomic Solar System
The Manhattan Project: Making the Atomic Bomb.
www.atomicarchive.com
January 21, 2025 at 12:52 PM
Disappointing indeed. International regulatory collaboration is needed to help prevent climate damage from the financial sector.
January 21, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Here is ECB Chief Economist Philip Lane recommending my new @piie.com book The Central Bank as Crisis Manager in today’s ECB Podcast (Minute 15:30). soundcloud.com/europeancent...
Tariffs, tensions and tackling inflation: the road ahead
What impact do global events have on our economy? And how has the ECB’s monetary policy shifted? As 2024 comes to an end, our host Paul Gordon discusses these questions and more with Chief Economist
soundcloud.com
December 20, 2024 at 9:37 PM
Online at 6 pm Wednesday (Dublin time)
DECEMBER 11: The launch of @phonohan.bsky.social's new book "The Central Bank as Crisis Manager," drawing lessons from recent crises across four continents & calling on central banks to prepare for crisis management. #EconSky
Info & register: www.piie.com/events/2024/...
December 10, 2024 at 2:30 AM
And one sector provides an interesting exception to the lackluster 2019-2024 sectoral real earnings growth in Ireland. It's the Information and Communication sector (shown below as IT), already with relatively high weekly earnings and still racing ahead as it has for many years.
November 29, 2024 at 6:29 PM
If it's economics that drives voting in general elections, the question for Ireland today is whether it's microeconomics or macro. (See the NYT piece by @fotoole). These graphs quantify the contrast between rocketing aggregate employment growth and below peak average real earnings.
November 29, 2024 at 3:33 PM
I think it’s spelled “Winsorizing”. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winsori...
November 27, 2024 at 11:35 AM
Good points made by @luigaricano.

In addition, these restrictions that the ECB is proposing for its CBDC (maximum balance, interest rate) will prevent it anchoring a payments system independent of US jurisdiction…
Very interesting analysis by @lugaricano.bsky.social on the poorly designed digital Euro project. One additional issue: the dual role of bank accounts as balances for payments ("money") and savings. ECB trying to do some of the first but none of the second. Not obvious to me.
The ECB is handicapping its digital euro project (strict holding limits, no interest payments, and mandatory bank account links) in order to protect the current broken, inefficient, subsidized banking system.
Do we need banks?
My post today
www.siliconcontinent.com/p/do-we-need...
🧵
1/10
November 27, 2024 at 11:16 AM
Reposted by Patrick Honohan
The global financial crisis had a huge impact on Ireland, with soaring unemployment & a big rise in public debt with the bank bailouts; but the economy has bounced back strongly since 2012, mainly due to globalisation & FDI

@econ-observatory.bsky.social

www.economicsobservatory.com/how-did-irel...
How did Ireland recover so strongly from the global financial crisis? - Economics Observatory
The global financial crisis of 2007-09 had a huge impact on Ireland, with soaring unemployment and a big rise in public debt as the government bailed out the country’s banks. But the Irish economy has...
www.economicsobservatory.com
November 25, 2024 at 10:45 AM
Economists working on Ireland. Great idea Rebecca, thanks!
I made a starter pack of Irish economists and economists interested in Ireland. It’s still sparse, but I’ll add to it as people join. Let me know if you would like to be added or have any suggestions.

go.bsky.app/UweG3ib
November 21, 2024 at 4:52 PM
Take a look at the jump in Irish employment. 100,000 in the past twelve months alone. Will the approaching de-globalization clouds be the peak of this roller-coaster?
November 21, 2024 at 1:01 PM
Congratulations David. Indeed, though I’ve read a lot of histories of money, you certainly have crafted a compelling narrative in yours.
Morning.

Fresh one in Dublin.

Lovely to wake up to this...@martinwolf_ of @FT @data.ft.com
has picked Money as one of his Best Economics Books of 2024.

Chuffed!

Cheers!

www.ft.com/content/d5fa...
Best books of 2024: Economics
Martin Wolf selects his must-read titles
www.ft.com
November 20, 2024 at 5:18 PM
Even though I know why, still neat to see it “going backwards”. Thanks.
Short timelapse of the Comet zooming through space in just 50 minutes!

#Comet #Space #astronomy #astrophotography 🧪🔭☄
October 30, 2024 at 4:21 PM