A thousand economists from 53 countries have written to G20 Finance Ministers, who met in Washington in mid-April, to urge the adoption of a financial transaction tax.

Economists wrote:

“The financial crisis has shown us the dangers of unregulated finance, and the link between the financial sector and society has been broken. It is time to fix this link and for the financial sector to give something back to society.”

Thirty Australian economists signed the letter, including Professors John Quiggin, Andrew McLennan, Geoff Harcourt, John Langmore and Ross Buckley. Professor John Quiggin was interviewed on World Today and Professor Ross Buckley published an article on The Conversation.

These Australian economists joined professors from many of the world’s leading universities, including Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge, the Sorbonne, Berkeley and Kyoto, in signing the letter. Signatories include Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute, Colombia University and special advisor to UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, Dani Rodrik, Professor of Political Economy at Harvard University, Professor Ha Joon Chang from Cambridge and Christian Fauliau, a former World Bank senior economist.

Professor Sachs said:

“It is time for the G20 to agree to a tax on financial transactions to help poor countries struggling with climate, food, and economic crises they did nothing to cause. The tax would also be a fair and efficient way to help close budget deficits in our own countries as well.”

More info: Robin Hood Tax Australia