Prime, Policy Research in Macroeconomics

By T. Sabri Öncü & Ahmet ÖncüIn Memory of David Graeber (1961–2020)This article first appeared in the Indian journal, Economic and Political Weekly, on 21 November, 2020On 30 March 2020, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) called for a $2.5 trillion COVID-19 crisis package for developing countries.[1] The UNCTAD...

By T. Sabri Öncü & Ahmet Öncü In Memory of David Graeber (1961–2020) This article first appeared in the Indian journal, Economic and Political Weekly, on 21 November, 2020 under the title “A Consortium Proposal to the SDR Basket Countries” On 30 March 2020, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) called for a $2.5 trillion COVID-19 crisis package for developing countries.[1] The UNCTAD proposals were: (i) $1 trillion to be made available through the expanded use...

Photo from Paris demo October 2017 (by Jeanne Menjoulet , via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Make_our_public_services_great_again_(23768004778).jpg PRIME is supporting a new programme to develop and communicate universal basic services (UBS) as a route to wellbeing for all, greater equality, full and decently-paid employment,...

PRIME is supporting a new programme to develop and communicate universal basic services (UBS) as a route to wellbeing for all, greater equality, full and decently-paid employment, and ecologically sustainable economic activity.  UBS is a framework for policy and practice that fosters collective responsibility, exercised through public institutions, to meet needs we all share.  It recognises that income has two dimensions: one is money and the other is ‘social income’, derived from in-kind...

PRIME is pleased to be working with colleagues on a new project to promote the concept of and need for Universal Basic Services. We are now seeking to engage a part-time Project Officer to help the Task Force launch the project. Details of the project and role below, and also set out in this pdf.PROJECT OFFICER: UNIVERSAL BASIC SERVICES (UBS) Summary We are seeking to engage the services of an energetic and creative person to help build support for Universal Basic...

This is a You Tube recording of a discussion organised by the Trans National Institute (TNI) on Wednesday, 7th October, 2020. Jayati Ghosh, Ann Pettifor, Alvin Mosioma and Oscar Reyes hold a stimulating conversation on how to finance a recovery from COVID-19 and invest in a just climate transition. They address key questions such as what options and mechanisms do we have in the current circumstances to avoid austerity and invest in a just transition? How can we ensure that the Global South...

On Wednesday (30 September) the Office for National Statistics published its second estimate of GDP for the second quarter of 2020, April to June.  The very marginally positive news is that the fall, between Q1 and Q2, was reduced from 20.4% to 19.8%.  Since this was still the largest recorded quarterly fall since records commence in 1955, this is hardly a cause for jubilation – and even less so since the Q1 drop was raised from -2.2% to -2.5%. As we discuss below, the position would...

On Wednesday (30 September) the Office for National Statistics published its second estimate of GDP for the second quarter of 2020, April to June.  The very marginally positive news is that the fall, between Q1 and Q2, was reduced from 20.4% to 19.8%.  Since this was still the largest recorded quarterly fall since records commence in 1955, this is...

This article was written in July, 2020 for Project Syndicate where it was finally published on 1st October, 2020. The global economy suffers from dangerous imbalances.  Economic goals for endless ‘growth’ lead to rises in heat-trapping gases that conflict with the earth’s limited capacity to manage rising toxic emissions.  Urbanisation, pollution, soil erosion, deforestation, depletion of wildlife, degradation of marine ecosystems – these and other economic activities disturb...