Lars P. Syll

Hyman Minsky at 100 On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Hyman Minsky (1919-1996) I recommend every one to listen to BBC 4 where Duncan Weldon tries to explain in what way Hyman Minsky’s thoughts on banking and finance offer a radical challenge to mainstream economic theory. As a young research stipendiate in the U.S. yours truly had the great pleasure and privilege​ of having Hyman Minsky as a ​teacher. He was a great inspiration at the...

Nobel prize winner Thomas Sargent talking absolute unadulterated horse shit [embedded content] I especially love the way this Nobel laureate “explains” rational expectations: There are so many people out there, and it is so difficult to know how each one of them thinks about the future. So let’s just assume they think the same. Problem solved. And that absolute nonsense reasoning rendered this guy a ‘Nobel prize’ in economics! The tiny little problem that...

Greta Thunberg on the leaders that have failed us  [embedded content] We are in the middle of a climate breakdown, and all they can talk about is money and fairytales of eternal economic growth In the postwar period, it has become increasingly clear that economic growth has not only brought greater prosperity. The other side of growth, in the form of pollution, contamination, wastage of resources, and climate change, has emerged as perhaps the greatest...

Suppose that you work in a restaurant … “Suppose that you work in a restaurant where two regular customers, Ann and Bob, are equally likely to come in for a meal. Further, you know that Ann is indifferent among the 10 items on the menu, whereas Bob strictly prefers the hamburger. While in the kitchen, you receive an order for a hamburger. Who is more likely to be the customer: Ann or Bob?” I just love this paper, not so much for its content (which is fine)...

Up in the blue (personal)  [embedded content] Jeanette’s birthday present …

Sous pression depuis des années déjà, l’enseignement des SES est repris en main par l’académisme néoclassique. Utilisé comme outil pédagogique par certains enseignants, Alternatives Economiques s’est retrouvé associé aux critiques de la droite et du patronat à l’encontre de cette matière. Alternatives Economiques est né en 1980. Le magazine tire son nom de l’interpellation de Margaret Thatcher, arrivée au pouvoir en 1979 au Royaume-Uni, qui avait l’habitude de défendre sa...

  My friend – you bow to no one!  [embedded content]

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Donald Trump is a criminal David Frum: Dann kam der berauschende Moment des Jahres 1990, und plötzlich schien die Zukunft des ganzen Planeten so auszusehen. Alles würde nur besser und besser und besser werden. Die Sphäre des Friedens, der Freiheit und des Wohlstands würde sich endlos ausdehnen, auch China und Indien würden dazugehören … Diese Hoffnung ist Anfang des 21. Jahrhunderts verschwunden. Und dann wurden die Vereinigten Staaten langsam...

La Fed e il controllo della politica monetaria Alla Casa Bianca non è piaciuta la decisione della Federal Reserve di tagliare soltanto di un quarto di punto il tasso di riferimento. Ma l’attacco furioso via Twitter cela il fatto che a Donald Trump sia piaciuto ancor meno il modo in cui Jay Powell, in conferenza stampa, ha spiegato la decisione. È un rimedio, ha detto il presidente della Fed, all’incertezza prodotta dalla politica commerciale, in particolare...