Economist of the day

  Radical economist Maria da Conceição Tavares (who, in the video above, addresses students of economics and describes the subject as political economy, as a social science for which history—not mathematics—is central) was just awarded the highest scientific prize granted by the Brazilian government [ht: cb and gh]. In a recent interview, Tavares explained that, [...]

Economist of the day

Austerity is painful, which is why austerity tomorrow is not credible. Yet shared tax increases and spending cuts can instil a sense of national purpose to help a country weather tough times. Raghuram Rajan, “Sensible Keynesians see no easy way out”

Pay-to-play economists

source* In an excerpt from his new book, Predator Nation, Charles H. Ferguson, the director of Inside Job, describes how “significant portions of American academia have deteriorated into ‘pay to play’ activities.” Academics on industry payrolls are now so numerous and powerful that they can often prevent universities, professional associations, and academic journals from adopting [...]

Economist of the day

The European: Four years after the beginning of the financial crisis, are you encouraged by the ways in which economists have tried to make sense of it, and by the ways in which those insights have been taken up by policy makers? Stiglitz: Let me break this down in a slightly different way. Academic economists [...]

Some economist has to shill for the banks

We all know that, in the face of the Occupy Wall Street movement, somebody has to step in and serve as a shill for the banks. And who better to fill the role than Yale University economist Robert J. Shiller? The notion that businesses are prone to act immorally and aggressively, Mr. Shiller says, is [...]

Economist of the day

A Dangerous Resolution. The Christian resolution to find the world ugly and bad, has made the world ugly and bad. Amartya Sen began his University of Notre Dame Lecture in Ethics and Public Policy, “The Demands of Justice,” with the above quotation from Friedrich Nietzsche’s The Joyful Wisdom. Sen then proceeded to explain that is [...]

Neoclasical economists blame workers always and everywhere

Neoclassical economists’ solution to every macroeconomic crisis no matter where it occurs is to introduce labor market “flexibility” and to lower workers’ wages. It’s what they have argued in the case of the United States (here and here) and Greece (here and here). And now it’s what they’re recommending for Spain. Cinzia Alcidi and Daniel [...]

Economist of the day

“The United States is getting accustomed to a completely crazy level of inequality,” Mr. Piketty said, with a degree of wonder. “People say that reducing inequality is radical. I think that tolerating the level of inequality the United States tolerates is radical.” Thomas Piketty Update The U.S. Senate yesterday rejected consideration of the “Buffet rule.”

Protest of the day

Italians today are protesting the pension reforms proposed by Prime Minister Mario Monti. After passing a sweeping mix of tax hikes and spending cuts to shore up public finances, Monti undertook a major overhaul of the pension system, which was largely praised by economists. Of course it was. . .

Replace economics with anything, “even gardening classes”

source What have we learned about how to change the teaching of economics since the crisis of 2007-08 and now in the midst of the Second Great Depression? To judge from the New York Times symposium, not a whole helluva lot. Former economics student Mona Chalabi is clear both about what was wrong with the [...]