Things seem to be calming down in financial markets, which could be interpreted in one of two ways. The benign interpretation is that a few weak banks failed, but the rest of the financial system is in decent shape. The paranoid interpretation is that crises occur in stages, with pauses between the key failures. So far, I lean towards the benign interpretation — there are some areas of weakness, but not a lot of visible credit failures in the real economy. Things will deteriorate as the...

It should not be a surprise that John Maynard Keynes is often seen as being relatively conservative by many progressively inclined or radical economists, that often tend to prefer the views of Michal Kalecki, or the more radical approach of Keynes’ favorite disciple, Joan Robinson. That is not the case in James Crotty’s book Keynes Against Capitalism, who takes a diametrically opposite view. He tells us that: “It is almost universally believed that Keynes wrote his magnum opus, The General...

Warranting causal claims — vouchers and clinchers Methods for warranting causal claims fall into two broad categories. There are those that clinch the conclusion but are narrow in their range of application; and those that merely vouch for the conclusion but are broad in their range of application. Derivation from theory falls into the first category, as do randomized clinical trials (RCTs), econometric methods and others. What is characteristic of...

MMT for the "left." It's a reasonably good explanation of how a currency issuer is different from a currency user. Reading the comments section is depressing. The so-called left is about as clueless as the so-called 'right," e.g., as represented in the comments section at ZH. It seems doubtful that either of these heavily programmed groups will ever get it. However, here there are also commentors supporting MMT, holding out hope that the "left" isn't totally brainwashed. Daily KosThe...

Modern Monetary Theory and European MacroeconomicsThis course provides an introduction to Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). During the course, students will examine the balance sheets and transactions that are relevant for understanding modern money, with a focus on the Eurozone. Furthermore, alternative explanations are brought forward that include, among others, the idea that governments spend first and collect taxes later...econoblog 101Summer School on “Modern Monetary Policy and European...

I regularly encounter mainstream economists who are confounded by the dissonance that the body of theory they have been working in introduces and then seem to think they have come up with new ideas that restores their credibility. The more extreme version of this tendency is called plagiarism in academic circles. But the less extreme version is to produce some work in which you conveniently ignore the main contributors in history but hold out implicitly that the ideas are somehow your own....

Door Wide Open for Republicans on Student Loans, Alan Collinge, Student Loan Justice, Medium. Angry Bear has featured Alan and Student Loan Justice Org. well over a decade now. In the manner they are written, these loans by the Federal Government and maintained by private enterprises are akin to loans made by a hypothetical student loan shark. Loan relief exists for every other loan in this nation. Just not for Students. There are about 54...

What we are seeing in the UK is an example of giving commercial healthcare too much latitude in providing healthcare. Private equity became involved with care for older people and care became chargeable and means-tested, long-stay hospitals were closed. and the government gave over the building of new facilities to private interests. Th US is just starting to experience the growth of mega-healthcare corporations having tenacles in the lowest...

More on the sharp deceleration in YoY house price gains, and the Fed’s chasing the phantom menace  – by New Deal democrat Since there is no big economic news again today, let me fill in a little more detail on house prices through January, reported yesterday, vs. CPI for shelter. Here is the monthly % change for the past 18 months for Owners Equivalent Rent in the CPI (blue), vs. the Case Shiller national index (gold) and the FHFA purchase...