Green Shoots or Green Observers?

Published in June 29th, 2009

Economists have long had to endure being called “Dismal Scientists”, but really that’s not hard enough on them. With their proclivity to invent trite phrases to describe complex issues, they deserve to be known as Dismal Poets as well. The latest cliché off the economic jargon production line is “Green Shoots of Recovery”. With governments [...]

Eichengreen and O’Rourke: A Tale of Two Depressions

Published in June 24th, 2009

Posted by Cassander in Debtwatch

75 Comments

Economic historians Barry Eichengreen and Kevin H. O’Rourke are using empirical data to compare this downturn to the Great Depression. I’ll be referring to and adding to their comparison in the next Debtwatch (which will be published late next week, before the RBA’s July meeting), but the research is so good that it deserves to [...]

The Pool Room Friday 19th June 2009

Published in June 20th, 2009

Posted by Cassander in Debtwatch

52 Comments

AUSTRALIAN-RELATED LINKS: Aussie Banks Addicted To Foreign Borrowing, Daily Reckoning, 18 Jun “The deposit base of Aussie banks is ‘too low’. Aussie banks are over-reliant on offshore money. This entire situation is a ‘threat to economic recovery’. So it appears Aussie banks are addicted to foreign borrowing and are currently suffering from withdrawal symptoms… Australia’s [...]

The Pool Room Friday 12th June 2009

Published in June 13th, 2009

Posted by Cassander in Debtwatch

90 Comments

More gems and brickbats from the world’s media and blogs gathered by Evan, with contributions from other blog members. Please keep those tips coming in to gfcwrap at gmail.com. AUSTRALIAN-RELATED LINKS: June 9, 2009: “A beautiful set of numbers tell only part of the economic story”, Tim Colebatch, The Age. “How can anyone make sense [...]

Are the students revolting?

Published in June 13th, 2009

Posted by Cassander in Education

27 Comments

I’ve had a few exchanges with neoclassical economists recently via the East Asia Forum blog, whose editor approached me to write a version of my “What a load of Bollocks” post on this site. That piece “Why neoclassical economics is dead“, critiqued an East Asia Forum post “The state of economics” by neoclassical textbook authors McTaggart, [...]

An economic counter-revolution begins… in Reykjavik

Published in June 7th, 2009

Posted by Cassander in Debtwatch

51 Comments

In Debunking Economics, I argued that economic theory had done such damage to society that humanity would be better off if everything ever written about economics by anyone–including yours truly–were obliterated, and the world had to start again from scratch. Unfortunately that can’t be done–everything, even economics, develops in an evolutionary way–but the next best [...]

The Pool Room–Week Ending Friday 5th June 2009

Published in June 5th, 2009

Posted by Cassander in Debtwatch

67 Comments

Before the Pool Room, a quick comment on Australia’s recent 0.4% growth in GDP in the first quarter of 2009–largely due to a surprise growth in net exports–and the sequel the next day of a surprise trade deficit. Briefly, the “textbook” definition of GDP is: GDP = C+I+G+X-M “GDP equals Consumption plus Investment plus Government [...]

Unmasking the Economics Profession: the challenge of political economy

Published in June 2nd, 2009

Posted by Steve Keen in Debtwatch

20 Comments

STEVE KEEN and EVAN JONES in conversation with FRANK STILWELL In this event to celebrate the publication of Political Economy Now!–the history of the Political Economy struggle at Sydney University–Evan Jones, Frank Stilwell and Steve Keen will discuss the struggles inside the university economics departments and their significance, not only for teaching, but for the [...]

Debtwatch No 35: Let’s Do the Time Warp Again

Published in June 1st, 2009

Posted by Cassander in Debtwatch

100 Comments

Economic debate in Australia today reminds me of one of the great lines in The Rocky Horror Show. As he invites Brad and Janet to meet Rocky, Frank-N-Furter taunts Janet with the lines: “I see you shiver with anticipation! But maybe the rain is really to blame So I’ll remove the cause,… But not the [...]