Mike Norman Economics — Feed Items
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Read Yves Smith's intro for a significant qualifier.
Naked CapitalismChina is the world’s sole manufacturing superpowerRichard Baldwin | Professor of International Economics IMD Business School, Lausanne; VoxEU Founder & Editor-in-Chief VoxEU.orgOriginally at VoxEU
The latest information from Japan suggests that in December 2023, its inflation fell sharply for the second consecutive month and that one might conclude the inflation episode is coming to an end. The Bank of Japan made the assumption that this supply-side inflation was temporary and would subside fairly quickly once those constraints eased. And they were right. All the other central banks somehow convinced themselves that the inflation was demand-driven and have been needlessly pushing up interest rates.
Economics fails not merely to account for biophysical limits to growth but to account for actual and potential alternative provisioning systems. Instead, talk of ‘the economy’ makes an implicit ontological claim that there is only a singular form of modern economy: the capital accumulating, price-making market economy. Economics has then become limited to a discussion of market capitalism and how it can be maintained in light of its evident failings. Hence, a new critical orthodoxy has arisen that seeks to maintain ‘business as usual’.
The social cost of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, considered the single most important measure in addressing the climate crisis, is generally defined as an estimate of societal damages, including health harms, resulting from unpaid or externalized GHG emissions. Researchers have been calculating this cost for several decades. Federal agencies began regularly incorporating the social cost of these emissions in 2008 — today, more than 80 federal regulations reflect its use.
I got a question about references for post-Keynesian theories of interest rates. My answer to this has a lot of levels, and eventually turns into a rant about modern academia. Since I do not want a good rant to go to waste, I will spell it out here. Long-time readers may have seen portions of this rant before, but my excuse is that I have a lot of new readers....
Pepe Escobar's forecast on Eurasian development in the coming year.
Strategic Culture Foundation (sanctioned by the US Treasury Department)
Year of the Dragon: Silk Roads, BRICS Roads, Sino-RoadsPepe Escobar
If SCF is blocked, you can access the article at The Alternative World here.
Daily Kos? Yep. At least some of the so-called "left" are waking up?
The quotes is from a recent piece by James K. Galbraith and the post refers to Stephanie Kelton for explanation.
Daily Kos"Medieval doctors drew blood; modern central bankers raise interest rates"
Bethesda 1971
On June 8, 2021, the UK Guardian published an Op Ed I wrote about inflation – This article is more than 2 years old:
Modern Monetary Theory provides a useful lens through which to view the mounting sovereign-debt crisis in the developing world. It sheds light on why low- and middle-income countries borrow in foreign currencies, while also suggesting that rich countries could provide significant relief if they so desired....
MMT to the rescue from the debt trap. Is the debt trap due to a misunderstanding of economics and finance, or is it policy?
Quotes and links to sources.
Funding the Future
Central bankers on their ability of banks to create money out of thin air
Richard Murphy
See also by Richard Murphy
Shouldn’t bankers know how banking works?