Tag Archives: MMT critics

Last week, Thomas Fazi and I had a response to a recent British attack on Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) published in The Tribune magazine (June 5, 2019) – For MMT. The article were were responding to – Against MMT – written by a former Labour Party advisor. In – Part 1 – we considered how the MMT critique was not really about MMT at all. We provided a more accurate summary of what MMT is and what it is not. In this second Part we consider the way the former advisor’s article misrepresented...

Simon Wren-Lewis's response to Bill Mitchell proves Bill's point. I can't wait to see Bill's smackdown, if he bothers to respond. I don't have the time to waste. SWL is out of his league here.SWL doesn't get that the conventional approach is neoliberal. Reiterating it and saying it is not neoliberal doesn't cut it. I have little hope that SWL or the rest of the left neoliberals will ever get it. They will have to be replaced. New StatesmanLabour's fiscal credibility rule isn't neoliberal...

Good pro-MMT article from Peter May contra the neoliberal left.Take-away: So I agree that distribution of power is important but I do think that knowing exactly where money comes can be mighty helpful in torpedoing that actual power, by better exposing its bogus ‘justification’. That is why I imagine many consider MMT to be progressive; not because its understandings are inherently so in themselves. But simply because, in order to avoid a fair and logical left of centre conclusion, you...

Richard Murphy addresses specific issues raised questioning MMT. "Paradigms" are overarching conceptual models of systems that create a framework in terms of which competing theories can be generated in response to issues, especially emergent ones at the frontier of knowledge. The paradigm that has been in force with respect to policy issues since the rise of the Chicago School and the replacement of John Maynard Keynes with Milton Friedman has been neoliberalism, the basis of which is...

Leading proponents of Modern Monetary Theory respond to Tribune's recent article on the topic, arguing that socialists should not be afraid to "seize the means of production of money." TribuneFor MMT Thomas Fazi and Bill Mitchell

James Meadway recently published "Against MMT" (Modern Monetary Theory), in which he lays out a number of criticisms of the theory. Although it might have helped my readership numbers, I really did not want to get drawn into the mudslinging around MMT that erupted this January. One of the public relations problems MMT faces is that it seems that MMTists are in continued arguments with seemingly everyone. The negative tone of these arguments distract from the constructive aspects of the...

Contra Ian Stewart and James Meadway.Aside: If this is considered wonkish in the UK, the country has a problem.Tax Research UKFor MMT (long and wonkish) Richard Murphy | Professor of Practice in International Political Economy at City University, London; Director of Tax Research UK; non-executive director of Cambridge Econometrics, and a member of the Progressive Economy Forum

In this post, Stephanie Kelton takes on Paul Krugman. She appears to agree with Paul Krugman's assumption that monetary policy that is built on raising interest rates to address inflation is not backwards. Actually, central bank interest rate setting is a form of price setting, the policy rate being a variable that sets the cost of borrowing (price of money). Higher interest rates are also inflationary to the degree that increase the income of holders of securities, as Warren Mosler has...

I suspect Wolf chose to get this wrong, deliberately. His narrative does not work if he noted correctly what MMT said. But his real disagreement is that whilst MMT is correct (subject to his own misconceptions) he thinks the policy implications are wrong. Nice smackdown, if a smackdown can be considered nice.Richard Murphy concludes: Wolf has conceded MMT is right. Now he needs to accept the consequences. Including that democracy by and for the people should prevail. To this I would add...

Useful critique of MMT. Martin Wolf at least took the time to read Randy Wary's Modern Money Theory. His areas of agreement with MMT are mostly factual, whereas his criticisms appear to be mostly opinion. In addition, he is unaware of what some of the other MMT economists have written about his areas of concern. Most seriously, his solution is more technocracy, which ignores the agency problem. But worth a read. Financial TimesStates create useful money, but abuse it Martin Wolf