Mike Norman Economics

Although this sounds extremely harsh, it is the only way to describe aspects of DSGE macro such as the assumption that the level of interest rates is a key determinant of economic behaviour. In practice, this assumption is built into all mainstream models, and the empirical methodologies have no way of rejecting the assumption. It is not entirely an accident that the consensus has been shocked by the slow pace of recovery after modern recessions -- after all, it was believed that the level...

Link to paper by Ramaa Vausdevan Radical Political Economy The Significance of Marx’s Theory of Money Posted by David Fields

Are blockchain and cryptocurrencies as over-hyped? Michael Roberts thinks so and explains why.Michael Roberts BlogBlockchains and the crypto crazeMichael Roberts

Proof of uncertainity.Lars P. Syll’s BlogPutting predictions to the testLars P. Syll | Professor, Malmo University

Could be a source for all the recent belligerence; doesn't look good for NK if the photo is real...North Korea faces serious food shortages after intense drought and 'very bad harvest' https://t.co/tAxja34XrB pic.twitter.com/9IC9ju9H5v— Blimling&Associates (@Blimling) September 15, 2017

The DC War Party’s petrodollar imperialism, which funds the US war machine and allows for a constant war footing, is quickly running out of allies to maintain its global hegemony  In what is the latest move to undermine the imperial world order maintained by the United States, which is underpinned through use of the petrodollar as the world reserve currency, the Wall Street Journal reports that Venezuelan President Maduro has officially followed through on his threat to stop accepting US...

Yet it is very difficult to tell these other stories. History is written, we are told, by the victors and stories that do not fit the pattern narrative are rejected. This is especially the case, I have come to believe, in the United States that has created during the Cold War a formidable machinery of open and concealed propaganda. That machinery cannot be easily turned off. It cannot produce narratives that do not agree with the dominant one because no one would believe them or buy such...

Assisting Tehran with sidestepping an ongoing Washington sanctions regime against the country, China has opened a $10 billion line of credit intended to finance energy, transportation, water and other key Iranian infrastructure projects.… The significant credit line will primarily use euros and yuan to bypass the US sanctions.... Sputnik InternationalUS Sanctions Continue to Backfire: China Opens $10 Billion Credit Line for Iran

This is an illustration of the political cost of Bernie not understanding and embracing MMT. He should have paid closer attention to MMT economist Stephanie Kelton when she was his economic adviser. 1. A currency sovereign cannot "go bankrupt." A currency issuer can always issue currency to cover its obligations in the currency of issue. In this case, default is a political choice rather than a financial necessity. 2. The only actual constraint on a currency soveriegn is the...

Just why is anyone still going to these people for policy advice, let alone putting some of them in charge of setting policy? The power of elite discourse to persuade is dangerous when an elite controls the frame and there is no accountability for results. Lars P. Syll’s Blog Stiglitz and the full force of Sonnenschein-Mantel-Debreu Lars P. Syll | Professor, Malmo University