Talk by Jacques Attali

“We are not yet out of crisis” said Dr Jacques Attali, French professor, writer, economist and public intellectual 

The fundamental cause of the global economic crisis is the absence of a ‘global rule of law’ to control the global financial market, according to Dr Jacques Attali, President of PlaNet Finance, an international non-profit organisation that promotes microfinance in some 80 countries.  
“The global crisis is the result of global demand for public and private debt,” he said, adding that “The excess of debt has created a lack of trust.” 

In the advanced Western economies, the debt crisis has revolved primarily around the inability of the private banking sector to respond adequately to the excessive demand for loans. Insolvent banks that have had their liabilities absorbed by the public sector have also caused in turn rising public debts. Elaborating his thoughts on this subject, Dr Attali said that microfinance could be one of the solutions to the global crisis, as it creates employment opportunities while reducing poverty without incurring huge debts.  

An honorary Member of the Council of State of France, Dr Attali was the keynote speaker at the public talk “Is the Global Economy Still in Crisis?” The talk was held on Thursday 13 January at the Ballroom, Raffles Hotel. Referring to the US economy, which is the world’s largest economy, Dr Attali observed that “the economic situation in the US is worse than ever before, especially as the US debt is still 350% of the GDP, and with 650,000 Americans still homeless.” 

Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo, who was present during the event to introduce Dr Attali, noted that “Taking a long term view towards a common destiny is the mission of the new Eurasia.”