Several former central bankers, including Stanley Fischer and Philipp Hildebrand, have called on central banks to adopt a form of money-financed fiscal policy – similar in some respects to ‘helicopter money’ – to overcome dwindling monetary firepower.

“Unprecedented policies” will be needed to tackle the next downturn, the economists say, warning that existing monetary policy tools are “almost exhausted”. They recommend central banks work with fiscal authorities to design a money-financed