Category Archives: Economic Policy

Arguments Against Free Trade and Comparative Advantage

Posted on May 1, 2014 by pilkingtonphil

In response to Krugman’s awful dismissal of heterodox economics the other day (see here) Ramanan has dug up an old quote reminding us that Krugman actually got his Swedish bank prize for being a defender of the status quo. In … Continue reading →

Posted in Economic History, Economic Policy, Economic Theory | 16 Comments

Scotland Risks Eurozone-Style Crisis if Issues Surrounding Sovereignty and Macro-Imbalances Are Ignored

Posted on April 14, 2014 by pilkingtonphil

This September the people of Scotland will go to the polls to vote whether or not they should remain in the UK. One of the key motivations for this move is to gain greater economic sovereignty so that Scotland can … Continue reading →

Posted in Economic Policy | 4 Comments

The Yield Curve and Recessions: Against US-Centricism

Posted on April 11, 2014 by pilkingtonphil

One of the nicest stylised facts in applied economics is that if the Fed inverts the yield curve it will cause a recession. Inverting the yield curve basically means that the Fed hikes the short-term interest rate goes higher than … Continue reading →

Posted in Economic History, Economic Policy, Economic Theory | 24 Comments

A Few Thoughts on Tom Palley’s Asset Based Reserve Requirements Proposal

Posted on April 10, 2014 by pilkingtonphil

Tom Palley has an interesting paper out on the Fed’s attempt to taper its QE program. I have written about the tapering program before here and here and I have written about how QE works here. Anyway, I will deal … Continue reading →

Posted in Economic Policy | 6 Comments

The British Financial Account 2002-2012

Posted on April 4, 2014 by pilkingtonphil

Today I published an article on The Guardian’s website entitled The left needs a deft touch in tackling the financial sector’s dominance. In the article I made the case that the value of the sterling is inherently tied up with … Continue reading →

Posted in Economic History, Economic Policy | 1 Comment

Marginalist Microeconomics: The Path to Totalitarian Tyranny

Posted on April 3, 2014 by pilkingtonphil

Kevin Hoover, although not generally well-known in Post-Keynesian circles, is easily one of the most interesting economists writing on epistemology and ontology today. He was originally an applied macroeconomist but, like anyone who is remotely philosophically literate, he quickly began … Continue reading →

Posted in Economic Policy, Economic Theory, Philosophy, Politics | 9 Comments

Making Sense of the Sterling Depreciation of 2007-2008

Posted on April 2, 2014 by pilkingtonphil

Something rather strange happened in Britain around the time of the financial crisis. The sterling tanked, import prices rose substantially and yet the inflation rate didn’t respond as much as we might assume. Other weird stuff happened too. For example, … Continue reading →

Posted in Economic History, Economic Policy | 20 Comments

Misdirection: Galbraith on Piketty’s New Book on Capital

Posted on April 1, 2014 by pilkingtonphil

I’ve been waiting for this for some time but now Jamie Galbraith has come out and provided an extensive discussion of Thomas Piketty’s new book Capital in the Twentieth Century. While I haven’t yet read Piketty’s book its difficult not … Continue reading →

Posted in Economic History, Economic Policy, Economic Theory | 32 Comments

Krugman Uses ISLM to Proclaim Looming Fiscal Crisis, Denounces Those Who Don’t Use ISLM

Posted on March 27, 2014 by pilkingtonphil

Some people often ask why I complain about Krugman. “Hey Phil, Krugman is a good guy. He likes government spending. You like government spending. Therefore you must like Krugman,” says our budding young Socrates. Well, I’ll tell you why: because … Continue reading →

Posted in Economic History, Economic Policy, Economic Theory | 26 Comments

More on the Job Guarantee and Wage Price Inflation

Posted on March 22, 2014 by pilkingtonphil

I’ve got quite a response to my last piece on the Job Guarantee program and it’s possible influence on wage-price spirals. Some of the kickback I received is, I think, based on a misunderstanding. A few people seemed to think … Continue reading →

Posted in Economic Policy, Economic Theory | 16 Comments