Lars P. Syll

Vad ska vi göra nu när visionerna rasar? .[embedded content]

The tyranny of merit .[embedded content] .[embedded content]

Why economists can’t forecast The problem of evaluating models built for forecasting is that one cannot get around invariance. There must be a stable bridge that connects the past and pres. ent with the future … To evaluate invariance its domain should be considered. In other words, one has to investigate what the list of all relevant non-negligible potential influences is. To ensure invariance, this list should be complete. This latter point was also...

Sraffian economics — an unhappy trade-off between rigour and relevance We have continually noted the tendency of Sraffians to subordinate the study of the substantive nature of economic phenomena to the requirements of logical rigor, and for Sraffians rigor equals GET (General Equilibrium Theory), the simultaneous determination of endogenous economic variables. The marriage of Sraffian economics and GET is not a promising avenue for studying past thinkers,...

The deficit lies mainstream economists knowingly tell us .[embedded content] [The interview was given to Mark Blaug in 1995. In transcript: “I think there is an element of truth in the view that the superstition that the budget must be balanced at all times [is necessary]. Once it is debunked, [it] takes away one of the bulwarks that every society must have against expenditure out of control. There must be discipline in the allocation of resources or you...

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.[embedded content] Sandel is — as always — both incisive and sensible in his analysis. As did Polanyi decades ago, Sandel shows the dangers of letting market economies drift into becoming market societies.

The tractability hoax in modern economics While the paternity of the theoretical apparatus underlying the new neoclassical synthesis in macro is contested, there is wide agreement that the methodological framework was largely architected by Robert Lucas … Bringing a representative agent meant foregoing the possibility to tackle inequality, redistribution and justice concerns. Was it deliberate? How much does this choice owe to tractability? What...

Nothing compares to you .[embedded content] Shuhada’ Sadaqat — known professionally as Sinéad O’Connor — 1966-2023. RIP.

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