Ian Harris, Managing Director of Z/Yen Group Limited, delivered a special Gresham College lecture at the Museum of London, the climax of the Gresham series “Beyond Crisis”. The lecture, Changing Money: Communities, Longer Term Finance and You included some biting comments on the modern system of money and responses to the recent financial crisis.

On quantitative easing, Ian said: “So how much does a dose of QE actually add to the money system? It depends on how much lending and therefore additional fractional reserve money results from the central bank injection – i.e. no-one knows. You have to try it and find out. But one thing you very rarely hear about is a dose quantitative Imodium or quantitative constipation if matters get out of hand”.