Mike Norman Economics

On Tuesday (June 9, 2020), Eurostat published the March-quarter national accounts data for the EU and the Eurozone – GDP down by 3.6% and employment down by 0.2% in the euro area – which revealed that the decline in GDP “were the sharpest declines observed since time series started in 1995”. Of course, Europe went into this crisis in poor shape. Eurostat noted that “In the fourth quarter of 2019, GDP had grown by 0.1% in both the euro area and the EU.” So it was barely crawling anyway due...

Many Americans have a childish view of freedom, says, Anand Giridharadas, and that private companies can severely limit freedom too.Many European countries have great capitalist companies, but Europe’s social democracic tradition creates a better society for everyone, which even the corporations like. They never have to worry about providing health care, for one thing.I went for a scan last year at a small local hospital, but when I got there I had forgotten my letter. No worry, they said,...

Applying MMT to addressing climate change. Interestingly, no specific mention of the "Green New Deal."GizmodoThe Economic Theory That Could Fuel a Climate Change RevolutionBrian Kahn, Managing editor, Earther internviews Stephanie Kelton, Professor of Public Policy and Economics at Stony Brook University, formerly Democrats' chief economist on the staff of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, and an economic adviser to the 2016 presidential campaign of Senator Bernie Sanders

How To Deal With People With Covid-19 Who Are Being Non-Compliant  And the conspiracists think that Covid-19 is no worse than flu.It's also one of the funniest videos I've seen for a while. [embedded content]

Fed will leave the status quo for now and no rate hikes until 2022. Stocks fall, gold rallies and the dollar drops.

Stephanie Kelton's the Deficit Myth: Modern Monetary Theory and the Birth of the People's Economy (affiliate link) has been published, and is selling like hotcakes.  Also on the MMT book front, Pavlina Tcherneva has a book on the case for the Job Guarantee out (affiliate link). It has already been released in some European countries, but not available yet here in North America.... Bond Economics "Deficit Myth" OutBrian Romanchuk

Is the American Empire going to go the way of all empires of the past? Will the Western liberal order collapse like the USSR? Is America engaged in a civil war? There are good reasons to suspect some or all of the above are taking place.  My view is that is not only a good thing but also a necessary one. America will be strengthened by the dialectic now occurring among different constituencies. America can come out with its moral leadership restored, which would allow it to regain its...

One recurrent line of discussion I have seen over the years are assertions or questions about currency values that follow this format: if some particular economic event happens, then the currency will rise (or fall). This seems to be the result of "all else equal" logic, but it is highly misleading. Foreign exchange markets are markets, and prices (exchange rates) should not be expected to follow simple rules. Otherwise, all foreign exchange traders would end up with above average profits,...

I am going to use the Wednesday blog post for the time being as the place I publish our MMTed Q&A series. There will also be some music for those who like to find some different music. I have just published – MMTed Q&A Episode 2 – on the MMTed YouTube channel (see overleaf). We covered some interesting questions and I hope you find it interesting. The program this week goes for 38 minutes. I am not a very good studio producer (given the aim is to keep it down to 30 minutes).... Bill...

Description One of the most enduring ideas in economics is that unemployment is both unavoidable and necessary for the smooth functioning of the economy. This assumption has provided cover for the devastating social and economic costs of job insecurity. It is also false.In this book, leading expert Pavlina R. Tcherneva challenges us to imagine a world where the phantom of unemployment is banished and anyone who seeks decent, living-wage work can find it - guaranteed. This is the aim of the...