Weeks, John, (2015). “Euro Deflation And How To Interpret It”, Social Europe Journal, 12 October If you read Larry Summers in the Financial Times, you know that recent data confirm falling prices in the euro zone.  Summers argues that the deflation indicates global stagnation, though we find disagreement on the appropriate interpretation. For some it is no more than the transitory effect of falling petroleum prices. Relevant Posts Muellbauer, J. …Read More

Deaton, Angus, (2015), “Weak States, Poor Countries”, Social Europe Journal, 13 October In Scotland, I was brought up to think of policemen as allies and to ask one for help when I needed it. Imagine my surprise when, as a 19-year-old on my first visit to the United States, I was met by a stream of obscenities from a New York City cop who was directing traffic in Times Square …Read More

Rodrik, Dani, (2015), “The Mirage Of Structural Reform”, Social Europe Journal, 12 October Every economic program imposed on Greece by its creditors since the financial crisis struck in 2009 has been held together by a central conceit: that structural reforms, conceived boldly and implemented without slippage, would bring about rapid economic recovery. The European Commission, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund anticipated that fiscal austerity would be …Read More

Janssen, Ronald, (2015), “The German Minimum Wage Is Not A Job Killer”, Social Europe Journal, 9 September Mainstream economists excel in scaremongering about the dismal effects any policy that tries to correct market forces may have on economic performance. By arguing that such a policy will destroy jobs, things are even turned upside down. Because of the presumed job losses, social policy suddenly becomes anything but social while liberal economic policy …Read More

Kanbur, Ravi, Stiglitz, Joseph, (2015), “Wealth and income distribution: New theories needed for a new era”, Voxeu, 18 Αυgust Growth theories traditionally focus on the Kaldor-Kuznets stylised facts. Ravi Kanbur and Nobelist Joe Stiglitz argue that these no longer hold; new theory is needed. The new models need to drop competitive marginal productivity theories of factor returns in favour of rent-generating mechanism and wealth inequality by focusing on the ‘rules of the game.’ …Read More

Krugman, Paul, (2015), “The Downside of Labor Mobility”, NY Times blog, 14 Αυgust The theory of optimum currency areas is one of those old-fashioned pieces of macroeconomics — like IS-LM, the concept of the liquidity trap, and the theory of secular stagnation — that has turned out to be extremely relevant and useful to the world since 2008. So this is a version of Mark Thoma’s dictum that new economic …Read More