Secular Stagnation: The Limits of Conventional Wisdom
The debate over secular stagnation continues, yet orthodox economists are loath to admit that the needed fix is more demand, which means more government spending.
Read more...Category Archives: The dismal science
The Knock-On Consequences of the US-China Trade Tariffs on Global Value Chains
Looking at the math of the impact of tariffs on global value chains.
Read more...Keynes Was Really a Conservative
“The class war,” said Keynes, “will find me on the side of the educated bourgeoisie.”
Read more...Kalecki, Minsky, and “Old Keynesianism” Vs. “New Keynesianism” on the Effect of Monetary Policy
Larry Summers, a barometer of leading edge conventional wisdom, questions Keynesianism as a distortion of Keynes and for its overconfidence in monetary policy.
Read more...Is it Really “Full Employment”? Margins for Expansion in the US Economy in the Middle of 2019
Many indicators say the US is close to full employment. Hours of work tell a different story.
Read more...The Sacrificial Rites of Capitalism We Don’t Talk About
How capitalism’s dominant narrative, that of self-interested competition, is at odds with other themes, like deferred gratification and sacrifice.
Read more...Ideology is Dead! Long Live Ideology!
Economists like to say they’re immune to ideology. Research shows the opposite.
Read more...How Richard Vague Discovered Gravity: An Interview + Book Review of A Brief History of Doom: Two Hundred Years of Financial Crises
Richard Vague extends his work on the dangers of private debt via his new book, A Brief History of Doom, on the role of debt in financial crises.
Read more...No, Productivity Does Not Explain Income
Why a widely-held view about productivity that is foundational to the claim that people are paid what they deserve does not hold up to scrutiny.
Read more...Keeping the Oil in the Soil
The goal of any serious climate policy is to keep oil and other fossil fuels in the ground. The central question is how.
Read more...China: The Covert Credit Superpower
An new working paper by Sebastian Horn, Carmen Reinhart and Christoph Trebesch on China’s foreign lending has some important findings, such as that China accounts for more than 40% of the external debt of 50 developing countries. We’ve embedded the document at the end of this post. The study is an ambitious undertaking, seeking to […]
Read more...Taxes for Revenue Are Obsolete
In a 1946 classic, New York Fed chairman Beardsley Ruml explains why taxes aren’t necessary for Federal spending and argues against corporate income taxes.
Read more...Is Industrial Policy Finally Legitimate?
Awfully late in the game, industrial policy gets the recognition it deserves.
Read more...The Myth of Expansionary Austerity
If you hold mainstream economic views, it was too good to be true: Another effort to vindicate austerity falls victim to flawed methodology.
Read more...Michael Hudson Discusses the IMF and World Bank: Partners In Backwardness
Michael Hudson explains how the IMF and World Bank support US hegemony.
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