Tag Archives: macroeconomics

Econ 101. The standard model is misleading. Having gone through a handful of the most frequently used textbooks of economics at the undergraduate level today, I can only conclude that the models that are presented in these modern mainstream textbooks try to describe and analyze complex and heterogeneous real economies with a single rational-expectations-robot-imitation-representative-agent. That is, with something that has absolutely nothing to do with reality.….For almost forty years...

With all the tired and plain wrong critiques of economics out there that are easily shot down by even the most critical student of economics, I thought I'd try my hand at writing at one that might pass muster. I did write a book, but it was more aimed at taking a new direction; this will be a more specific critique. First, let me avoid the common mistake of using the word "economics" but then exclusively talking about macroeconomics: my critique is being leveled at macroeconomics (macro)....

Posted by Nick Falvo under aboriginal peoples, Alberta, budgets, Child Care, education, fiscal policy, homeless, housing, HST, income, income support, income tax, Indigenous people, inequality, labour market, macroeconomics, NDP, poverty, progressive economic strategies, public infrastructure, public sector procurement, public services, seniors, small business, social policy, student debt, taxation, user fees, women, workplace benefits. March 21st, 2018Comments: none The...

I’ve written a blog post about this year’s Alternative Federal Budget (AFB). Points raised in the blog post include the following: -This year’s AFB would create 470,000 (full-time equivalent) jobs in its first year alone. By year 2 of the plan, 600,000 new (full-time equivalent) jobs will exist. -This year’s AFB will also bring in universal pharmacare, address involuntary part-time employment among women, eliminate tuition fees for all post-secondary students in Canada, speed up...

So I've never really understood Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). In some sense, I can understand it as a counter to the damaging "household budget" and "hard money" views of government finances. To me, it still cedes the equally damaging "money is all-important" message of monetarism and so-called Austrian school that manifests even today when a "very serious person" tells you it's really the Fed, not Congress or the President that controls the path of the economy and inflation when neither...

Experience has shown that assuming a framework based on methodological individualism, microfoundations, and rationality based on utility leading to general equilibrium through the so-called "invisible hand" of market competition generating spontaneous natural order is not fruitful for explaining the macro scale of economic behavior and its results in terms of a general theory.Assuming that scaled up micro analysis explains macro effects risks the fallacy of composition, at the very least....

John Quiggin on Kartik Artheya's Big Ideas in Macroeconomics. Incidentally, it is often useful to ask, What's the big idea? Lars P. Syll’s BlogBig — and not so big — ideas in macroeconomicsLars P. Syll | Professor, Malmo University

During my recent hiatus from blogging, I have been pondering an important paper presented in June at the History of Economics Society meeting in Toronto, “The Standard Narrative on History of Macroeconomics: Central Banks and DSGE Models” by Francesco Sergi of the University of Bristol, which was selected by the History of Economics Society as the best conference paper by a young scholar in 2017....  Sergi’s paper is too long and too rich in content to easily summarize in this post, so...

CCPA recommendations for a better North American trade model October 6, 2017The all-party House of Commons trade committee is consulting Canadians on their priorities for bilateral and trilateral North American trade in light of the current renegotiation of NAFTA. In the CCPA’s submission to this process, Scott Sinclair, Stuart Trew, and Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood argue for a different kind of trading relationship that is inclusive, transformative, and […] Canadian Centre for Policy...

Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) has been in the news quite a bit in the last few weeks.¹ It’s refreshing to see this considering how bad the state of macroeconomics is. I say this as someone who has been very critical of MMT for many years. I think they overreach on some items, but as a general theory I think they provide a much clearer and more useful picture of the macroeconomy than most mainstream economic schools do. Among the important things they get right: Pragmatic CapitalismWhy MMT is...