In the wake of the global financial crisis, a rethink of our ideas about money and interest is overdue, writes Shann Turnbull: "The financial system and the economy need to be remade if President Obama is to “Remake America” as proposed in his inaugural address. To fix modern economies over the longer run an old type of interest-free money (Free-Money) is required to supplement and/or replace existing money. Current money encourages investment in financial assets whereas Free-Money creates an incentive to invest in the real economy. The real economy includes physical assets that increase productivity and counters inflation. It also includes technology that allows humans to live lightly on the planet."

Monetary policy should orient itself towards stability and take into account the recent precedents to the Global Financial Crisis, writes Imogen Halstead: "The Asian Financial Crisis and the dot.com boom and bust ignited great debate on the conduct of monetary policy, with the prevailing inflation-targeting framework coming under review. While this common approach to central banking had worked effectively to support price stability in the preceding years, some commentators suggested that central banks might simultaneously play a more explicit and active role in promoting financial stability."

In view of the Madoff scam, is it time to adjust our thinking towards our financial regulators, asks James Murray and Wilson Sy: Many people expect financial regulatory agencies (regulators) to protect them from unethical actions in the markets. They also expect regulators to take responsibility for financial system stability. Neither of these expectations are within the current restricted role of financial regulators. The role of regulators is largely limited to the legalistic oversight of compliance and enforcement of existing regulations. Hence there is a gap between what we think regulators should deliver and what regulators are required to deliver. This gap needs to be bridged.

An extract from the UK's New Economics Foundation on creating economic recovery 'From the ashes of the crash'.