Category: Macroeconomics

Good “Mainstream” Econ Podcasts still get basics wrong, frustrating

There are some great mainstream economic podcasts that I enjoy, such as Odd Lots and NPR's Planet Money. They cover interesting topics and are very well done production-wise. However, several times I have wanted to rant about basic mistakes but never bothered. But just listened to this otherwise interesting Planet Money podcast - February 24, … Continue reading Good “Mainstream” Econ Podcasts still get basics wrong, frustrating →

Democracy & Profligacy: Will MMT Destroy the World? Part III

Part I, Part II Part III continues with Edmond’s first three examples: New Zealand throughout the 1980sFrance in the early 1980sIsrael mid 1980s hyperinflation France For starters, as in the cases in Part II, we see the twin oil supply inflationary events of the 70s/early 80s. In France, there is a steady and sharp decline … Continue reading Democracy & Profligacy: Will MMT Destroy the World? Part III →

Democracy & Profligacy: Will MMT Destroy the World? Part I of III on the Government Spending→Inflation Myth

Prologue The worry about a "danger" from understanding how government actually functions/spends was already famously stated by Paul Samuelson decades ago: I think there is an element of truth in the view that the superstition that the budget must be balanced at all times...Once it is debunked, [it] takes away one of the bulwarks that … Continue reading Democracy & Profligacy: Will MMT Destroy the World? Part I of III on the Government Spending→Inflation Myth →

Inflation & Unemployment: Fiscal actions (i.e., “daily governance”) & Banking Regulation Work. Monetary “Policy” Does Not

Any argument that there is a “fiscal policy versus monetary policy” debate that somehow suggests we primarily rely on the latter is misspecified. You cannot not be primarily “doing fiscal,” it is simply not possible. (Whether done well or not is a different issue; the very belief that somehow fiscal takes a backseat is the key reason it has been done poorly for decades).

A (very) oblique history of MMT, Part III: (Blogs, Mitchell etc.)

"What happened to get the ideas out was the development of blogs.So Bill developed a blog...This is how the ideas got out. It wasn't through academics. It wasn't through the conferences—those are almost a complete bust. It was the blogs.L. Randall Wray (11 min mark generally, 14 min mark for these qts) A (Very) Oblique … Continue reading A (very) oblique history of MMT, Part III: (Blogs, Mitchell etc.) →

A (Very) Oblique History of MMT (Wray, Institutional Econ, & other ramblings): Part I

As MMT has “taken off” its founders and others have begun to preserve and reflect on its history (1). That history will be well covered as it will prove to be central to (genuine) macroeconomic history one day. Leaving that to others, I enjoy thinking about subtle influences, intellectual links and lineages, that go less … Continue reading A (Very) Oblique History of MMT (Wray, Institutional Econ, & other ramblings): Part I →

Do Economists Dream of Electric Gödel Machines?

"Show me your model [’s non-banal output useful for policy, prediction, or at least understanding the real world better than verbal/visual methods; granted toy models are useful for teaching some classroom concepts] !!!" It is well known that mainstream DSGE economic modeling is hopelessly flawed (e.g., here, here, here [discussed here], here, here, here, here, here, … Continue reading Do Economists Dream of Electric Gödel Machines? →