Tag Archives: MMT

Last week’s (April 5, 2019) release by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of their latest labour market data – Employment Situation Summary – March 2019 – is still being affected by the variability in the sampling and benchmarking changes made by the BLS. However, working through those impacts, one concludes that the US labour market is still adding jobs, albeit at a slower pace than last year. The unemployment rate remains low (at 3.81 per cent) and the participation rate has come off...

By Anonymous April 9, 2019 The mainstream attack on MMT is nothing less than an attempt to disguise the glaringly obvious error at the center of the mainstream view of economic thinking.  Mainstream economics is a nihilistic theory devoid of moral anchor.  Mainstream economics ceased to explore the operation of the real economy decades ago and has become an intellectual exercise that assumes the organization of modern society is justified simply because that is how it is.  While some...

By Thomas I. Palley (Guest Blogger)The last decade has witnessed a significant revival of belief in the efficacy of fiscal policy and mainstream economics is now reverting to the standard positions of mid-1970s Keynesianism. On the coattails of that revival, increased attention is being given to the doctrine of Modern Money Theory (MMT) which makes exaggerated claims about the economic costs and capability of money-financed fiscal policy. MMT proponents are now asserting society can enjoy a...

Its Wednesday and some snippets only today. I was reviewing some data on public investment in the European Union the other day and up popped an article in Barrons that covered the same issue. The data reveals the stark failure of the Eurozone and the European Union, in general. The consequences of the European Union’s ideological obsession for rules over reality is now clearly undermining the future prosperity of the Member States. While the fiscal austerity has created elevated and...

While I tried to keep up with the barrage of criticism when MMT went viral recently, after a while I ceased posting links to criticism of MMT unless it added something to the debate. Most of the things I see, and there's a ton of it spewing out, reiterates straw man arguments or is just uninformed nonsense. Not worth wasting time on.Thoughtful critics of other economists are worthwhile considering, however. No one has the ocean in their bucket and we should not think that MMT economists are...

By Thomas I. Palley (guest blogger)Recently, there has been a burst of interest in modern money theory (MMT). The essential claim of MMT is sovereign currency issuing governments do not need taxes or bonds to finance government spending and are financially unconstrained. MMT rests on a triad of arguments concerning: (i) the macroeconomics of money financed budget deficits, (ii) the employer of last resort or job guarantee program, and (iii) the history of money. This primer analyzes that...

Lars Syll schools Douglas Carr (The Hill op-ed) on austerity and the Swedish economy. Lars P. Syll’s BlogSweden as a case of MMTLars P. Syll | Professor, Malmo University

Gold buying like this functions as ‘off balance sheet deficit spending’. It’s off balance sheet as the payments by the CB don’t count as fiscal expenditures as they are accounted for as CB asset. And it’s functionally state deficit spending as the purchases add income in the form of net financial assets to the non government sectors: China’s on a bullion-buying spree. The world’s second-largest economy expanded its gold reserves for the fourth straight month, adding to optimism that...

Hatzius sees bigger risks in private debt than public deficit BofA, Standard Chartered say MMT only helps in sharp downturns BloombergWall Street Economists Wade Into the MMT Debate in a Big WayKatia Dmitrieva

The cost of giving up currency sovereignty. Even Germany isn't doing well under the euro now. Lars P. Syll’s BlogMMT perspectives on the euroLars P. Syll | Professor, Malmo University