Mike Norman Economics

A nice recap of David Graeber's contributions and influence, including on MMT. It's much more than a eulogy of Graeber. Longish but easy read.The New Republic — Critical MassHow David Graeber Changed the Way We See Money Eric Tymoigne | Associate Professor of Economics at Lewis and Clark College, Portland, Oregon; and Research Associate at the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College

John Cochrane has given us yet another example of how neoclassical economics differs from MMT on the question of fiscal policy. Arguing that there is "nothing new to MMT" is not paying attention. Bond Economics Yet Another Example Of Mainstream Handwringing About DebtBrian Romanchuk

After new cases of the bubonic plague were found in Los Angeles, Colorado, and in Mongolia near the Russian border this summer, it appears the infamous plague strain responsible for killing tens of millions of Europeans during the 14th Century continues to surface, this time, in South Lake Tahoe, California. The US Forest Service, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, issued a “plague warning” on Thur. (Sept. 3) ahead of Labor Day weekend, informing the public that fleas in the area tested...

China is going a step further in its generous support for hydrogen cars in the form of a package of policies aimed at improving the hydrogen fuel cell car supply chain and further advancing the relevant technologies, Reuters reports citing a government official. The package will target specifically on long-haul vehicles such as heavy-duty trucks.... Headline should be "vehicles" rather than "cars."OilpriceChina To Fast-Track Adoption Of Hydrogen Cars Irina Slav

On the days when he is not celebrating his friendship and trade deals with China’s president Xi Jinping, Donald Trump has sought to hype China as the United States’ major enemy in the world. This has meant not only absurd allegations about the pandemic (top Trump economic adviser Peter Navarro has claimed that China deliberately sent infected people to the U.S. to spread the virus and damage the U.S. economy), but also sanctions, tariffs, and hints of military confrontations. While much of...

U.S. President Trump has shown his cards. Huawei has to die. The only thing that can still save the Chinese company could be presidential candidate Joe Biden, a major retaliation from the Chinese government, which forces Trump to revise his policy or maybe the EU? If Huawei collapses, it not only means damage to the company and it’s employees but also for many suppliers and many European companies and consumers. To survive, Huawei might do a 50% deal with European company and move its...

In order to protect people from this type of imported inflation, African governments borrow foreign currencies in order to artificially keep African currencies “strong” relative to the US dollar and the euro. This artificial “band-aid” solution forces African economies into a frantic mode of economic activity focused exclusively on earning dollars or euros to service this external debt. As a result, Africa’s economies have been trapped into an austerity model, often enforced via conditions...

Simon Wren-Lewis tries and fails. Brian explains why.Bond EconomicsThe Implausibility Of The Lower Bound Escape ClauseBrian Romanchuk

Next installment.ProfSteveKeenThe Mathematical Model of Modern Monetary Theory 3 Steve Keen

Interesting article (longish) on online voting. Not ready for prime time?As it stands, the only provable means of secure voting is paper ballots cast in person with open counting and election observers to prevent cheating. And even that is not perfect. The digital age is apparently not quite upon us yet.Ars TechnicaWhy experts are overwhelmingly skeptical of online voting Timothy B. Lee