Category Archives: The dismal science

How Far Goods Travel: Global Transport and Supply Chains from 1965-2020

A detailed looks at trade patterns and supply chains over the last 50+ years.

“Tariffs Don’t Protect Jobs. Don’t Be Fooled.”

More discussion of tariffs as the US is using to whack Chinese imports, above all EVs.

The New Curse of Critical Minerals

An updated look at the classic resource curse.

Michael Hudson: 18th Century Writers Understand Effects of War Debt Better Than IMF

Michael Hudson explains how the IMF’s view of war debt is dangerously misguided and older economic thinkers had much better take.

After the European Elections: Fiscal Policy is the Elephant in the Room

Fiscal pressures are set to intensify battles among shifting European leadership groups as to how much to spend and on what.

The Fed’s “Chicken Run”: Why Sticking with High Rates Will Crash the Economy

How the Fed is acting like James Dean in the famous “chicken run” auto race in Rebel Without a Cause.

Freeports Are Dangerous

Rishi Sunak is still flogging his failed freeports initiative as a success. If they were to take off, the winners would be dodgy operators.

Michael Hudson: Modern (Mis)interpretations of Ancient Debt Cancellation

Modern economists misrepresent how ancient debt cancellation worked, forcing it into contemporary neoliberal /creditor rights frameworks

Apple’s “Crush” Ad, Rentierism, and the End of Capitalism?

Apple’s dystopian ode to rentierism.

How Trade Liberalisation Kicked Away African Development Ladder

How trade liberalization cut Africa’s modest production capacities, industry and food security.

Consumers Regard the Cost of Money as Part of the Cost of Living

This column examines why consumer sentiment in the US remained depressed in 2023 despite low unemployment and falling inflation, and finds that increasing borrowing costs can explain much of this gap.

How Biden Can Win on the Economy: Stop Mass Layoffs

Why has Biden failed to add a clause to Federal contracts to protect workers from mass layoffs?

Tilting at Windmills: Bernanke and Blanchard’s Obsession with the Wage-Price Spiral

The obsession of big-name economists with defending a bad model has consequences, here, a policy aim of whacking wages.