New Economic Perspectives

By William K. BlackFebruary 12, 2017     Bloomington, MN (Part 3 in my Tirole series) I discussed Jean Tirole’s 2001 article (“Corporate Governance”) and this remarkable admission about orthodox economists in my second article in this series. The economists’ implicit assumption is that employees, suppliers, customers, and other natural stakeholders are protected by very powerful contracts or laws that force controlling investors to perfectly internalize their welfare…. [The] details of...

By William K. BlackFebruary 11, 2017     Bloomington, MN (Part 2 in my Tirole series) In his letter to the French education minister denouncing French heterodox economists as a “motley crew” of academic failures, Jean Tirole, the 2014 Nobel Laureate in Economics, stated his test for the standard for an economist to be a scientist. Secondly, like the other great scientific disciplines, modern economic science relies on the continuous questioning of its hypotheses, testing its models...

William K. BlackDublin, Ireland     April 4, 2017 I presented a talk today at the Trinity Economic Forum in Dublin.  The Forum is a wonderful annual event run by the students that brings together thoughtful and forceful economic speakers from diverse viewpoints.  Steve Keen also gave a talk at the Forum and I thank him for bringing the subject of this column to my attention.  France is the home of some of the most theoclassical economists in the world. Orthodox French economists, a...

Steve Grumbine talks with NEP’s L. Randall Wray for Real Progressives LIVE. Topics include MMT and Debunking AMI: Positive Money and other important and relevant economic issues that affect the progressive agenda. [embedded content]

NEP’s Bill Black appears on The Real News Network discussing that Democrats and Republicans appear willing to offer public-private partnerships and tax credits to the benefit of Wall Street. You can view with transcript here.[embedded content]

NEP’s Bill Black on The Real News Network discussing how the Trump administration is using small business as an excuse for wholesale assault on regulation. You can view with a transcript here. [embedded content]

By William K. BlackJanuary 30, 2017     Bloomington, MN How far have Fox “News” and the self-described “Deplorables” fallen?  They rushed after a lethal terror attack on Muslims in Quebec City to declare that Muslims must have committed the attack. “So, I retweeted the wrong pics, but I was right about the #QuebecShooters being freaking Muslims!! Close, if the Deplorable meant by his phrase “I was right” “I was wrong.” For purposes of what I am about to write, I am channeling my...

By William K. BlackJanuary 26, 2017     Bloomington, MN CalPERS was once the crown jewel of institutional investors, known for combining competence, integrity, and care.  It invests funds and pays the pensions of California State workers.  Over a decade ago, however, CalPERS’ senior managers and board became a cesspool that stood for the opposite.  CalPERS’ corrupt culture is deeply rooted. Various California’s Treasurers have tried to clean up the mess, but the reforms have failed...

By William K. BlackJanuary 30, 2017     Bloomington, MN The troika refers to the European Union (EU), European Central Bank (ECB), and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).  The IMF, traditionally, was the greatest proponent of any international entity of inflicting extreme austerity on nations suffering economic crises.  The IMF’s economists have increasingly reviewed the evidence and concluded that austerity reduces growth and that putting nations into inescapable debt traps is...

By William K. BlackJanuary 27, 2017     Bloomington, MN I have just listened to Lawrence O’Donnell’s program on Friday, January 27, 2017.  It was a strong program, but I offer these friendly amendments on his discussion of the Washington Post story titled “Behind closed doors, Republican lawmakers fret about how to repeal Obamacare.”  O’Donnell and his guests spoke exclusively of how difficult it was for the Republicans to come up with a plan to replace Obamacare and making the point...