DiEM25
At the OECD, Paris, this Friday 1st March, speaking to: "The Euro Crisis, Asia's Woes and America's Dilemma in a Global Context"
, 26/02/2013
This coming Friday, 1st March, I shall be addressing the OECD on the need to re-think the Euro Crisis, Asia’s angst and America’s conundrum. My argument will be that markets cannot be trusted to correct the global imbalances underpinning our collective woes. Political action is needed at a global scale. Correction: In the original post, […]
On spontaneous order, Valve, the future of corporations, Hume, Smith, Marx and Hayek: A one hour chat with Russ Roberts on ECONTALK
, 25/02/2013
There is nothing more heartwarming than mutually beneficial exchanges with intellectually curious people with whom one disagrees strongly on some matters while sharing strong views and common concerns on others. Russell Roberts is Professor of Economics at George Mason University, and a Chicago PhD holder. Besides his academic credentials, he is the host of ECONTALK, a […]
Europe needs a hegemonic Germany
, 22/02/2013
For six decades Germany was being pampered by a hegemonic America that oversaw the write-off of its wartime debts, the reversal of Allied designs to de-industrialise it and, above all else, the constant generation of the global demand which allowed German manufacturers to concentrate on efficiently producing quality, desirable wares.
Economic illiteracy in the service of economic misanthropy: An Econ 101 reminder of the meaning of the multiplier for austerians
, 19/02/2013
Here is a quote from a recent pro-austerity article in an Establishment Greek newspaper: “Let us not forget that [Greece’s] primary surplus in 2009 was 10% and the result was a recession of 2.8%. Thus the fiscal multiplier was -3.5, not 0.5, not 0.75, not 1.7!” The author’s purpose, of course, was to argue that the […]
On the Global Minotaur’s Recycling Loop: An elementary comparison of US-German and Intra-Eurozone trade & capital flows
, 17/02/2013
This post was occasioned by a reader’s (Alejandro Calve Seferian) query: Why do I presume that an accelerating US trade deficit required an offsetting tsunami of net capital flows, from the Rest of the World to the US, in order to ‘close the loop’ and, thus, provide long term aggregate demand to the Rest of […]
Are Ireland and Portugal out of the woods? An updated version
, 12/02/2013
This post is an updated version of the previous one, addressing some of the points raised by Wolfgang Munchau in this article published since in the Financial Times. Ireland and Portugal have, recently, tested the water of the money markets with some success. Portugal has issued 5-year bonds and Ireland is in the process of […]
Are Ireland and Portugal out of the woods?
, 10/02/2013
Ireland and Portugal have, recently, tested the water of the money markets with some success. Portugal has issued 5-year bonds and Ireland is in the process of converting its unbearable promissory notes into long-term bonds, to be sold to the private sector. So, on face value, two of the so-called ‘program’ Eurozone countries, wards of […]
European Banking Union: Behind the rhetoric
, 09/02/2013
On 8th February 2013, the Texas International Law Journal organised a conference on the theme of The Nation State and its Banks. Click here for the full program. The organisers were kind enough to invite me to give the lunchtime talk, which I chose to be European Banking Union: Behind the rhetoric. You can here an […]
Some of us always said it: Grexit was an incredible threat
, 27/01/2013
So, Grexit is off the table, at least for now. Well, it was really never on the table, as some of us have been shouting from the rooftops for years now. Back in May 2011, I was writing here that the whole idea of expelling Greece from the Eurozone was based on “an incredible treat”; on […]
How can Europe overcome the crisis – by Robert Misik
, 23/01/2013
“The euro zone slips into the Merkel-recession”, writes Robert Misik in the German Trades Union Federation’s magazine AGAINST APERTURE. But, he adds, there are realistic alternatives. Some economists have developed ambitious plans. The DGB a Marshall Plan for Europe is one such. Click here to go to Misic’s webpage or read on…
Greek unemployment: Interviewed by John Doyle, ABC Radio National
, 15/01/2013
Unemployment in Greece is now at a staggering 27%, but behind all the statistics and the ongoing international drama there lies a major human tragedy and an ongoing European Crisis that is ravaging the continent like an unstoppable bushfire. Click: RN Breakfast Tue 15th Jan 2013 – Greek unemployment
The Eurozone and Greece: Is the Crisis over?
, 15/01/2013
A journalist from Chile’s El Mercurio just put two questions to me: (1) Is the Eurozone safe? and (2) Is Greece stabilising? Here are my answers:
Taking stock of 2012: Interviewed by Doug Henwood on KFPA
, 09/01/2013
Just before New Year’s Eve, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Doug Henwood once again. As the New Year was approaching fast, our talk, naturally, summed up developments on the Euro Crisis during 2012 and the prospects for 2013. To listen click: Behind the News with Doug Henwood for December 27th 2012 Podcast Contents […]
Toward an evolutionary model of the Eurozone Crisis: Ayers Scholar address, ASSA, San Diego
, 08/01/2013
We are all familiar with the so-called domino effect, or contagion, that began in Greece and has taken its toll throughout the Eurozone. Interestingly, no formal economic model has ever attempted to capture the essence of this negative dynamic. When the Association for Evolutionary Economics (AFEE) chose to honour me with the ‘Ayres Scholar for 2013’ accolade, […]
In lieu of a Happy New Year, courtesy of Camus
, 31/12/2012
“In the depths of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.”—Albert Camus Photo by Danae Stratou
Will the real economy rebound, following Wall Street's resuscitation? And what of Europe? – Interviewed by El Confidencial
, 20/12/2012
Another Spanish newspaper, El Confidencial, were kind enough to interview me on the global and european crisis, on the occasion of the Global Minotaur‘s Spanish translation-edition. Here is the interview, in English (the actual article will appear in Spanish, of course). Read on…
Taking stock of the Global and Euro Crisis
, 16/12/2012
A Spanish journalist interviewed me on the Spanish language edition of The Global Minotaur. Her questions, however, gave me an opportunity to look retrospectively at the Global Crisis, its Eurozone offshoot and, of course, the worst aspect of the latter, the Greek calamity. In the process, I refer to what I call the ‘death of […]
Will 2013 usher in the end of the Eurozone Crisis?
, 15/12/2012
The question above was put to me by a Brazilian journalist. I would have loved to answer in the affirmative. Only it would be misleading and dishonest to do so. Here is the answer I sent him: The reason the Eurozone is in crisis is that Europe’s leaders are in denial about its nature. As […]
"We all live under the dark cloud of the same crisis" James Galbraith at Germany’s IG Metall Trades Union Congress, 7th December 2012
, 12/12/2012
There is only one crisis. The various ‘episodes’ of US subprime mortgages, European and American banks, Greek debt, the recession of the Eurozone today, the trials and tribulations of Ireland, etc., all these are part of the very same, deeply interconnected world crisis. Pretending otherwise is fuel that gives this global crisis another lease of life, […]
At the Kreisky Forum: Why have Europe's social democrats surrendered to the toxic logic of current policies?
, 07/12/2012
On 5th December, I had the great pleasure of addressing a splendid audience at the Kreisky Forum, in Vienna. My theme was, surprise surprise, the European Crisis in its Global Context. Nevertheless, in view of the very special venue (dedicated to the late Chancellor Bruno Kreisky, and delivered in his former home), I was compelled to […]
Debt, Europe, Greece and the World Economy: Addressing the Kreisky Forum, Vienna, Wednesday 5th December 2012
, 02/12/2012
Anyone in Vienna this coming Wednesday (5/12/2012)? If so, perhaps you may pop in at the Kreisky Forum to hear me address: THE GREEK CRISIS AND THE EUROPEAN TRAGEDY THE DEBT CRISIS AND THE FUTURE OF THE WORLD ECONOMY For the official announcement…
The Eurozone after the November Eurogroup ‘Greek Deal’: On the current state of play
, 01/12/2012
On November 27th, 2012, the Eurogroup (comprising the Eurozone’s finance ministers) reached a decision on Greece. Its essence is a guarantee that Greece will remain in the Eurozone (and therefore off the Northern European agenda) for another ten to twelve months; at the very least until the German federal political cycle has seen through the […]
Eurozone slips into recession again: Debating the causes on China International Radio
, 30/11/2012
Click below for a China International Radio debate on the Eurozone Crisis, the extent to which austerity has caused the latest slip of the currency union area into recession and what can be done about it. Panel Discussion involving: -Cui Hongjian, Research Fellow with the China Institute of International Studies. -Yanis Varoufakis, Professor of Economic […]
Europe after the Global Minotaur
, 21/11/2012
This post follows up from an earlier one entitled America after the Global Minotaur. Both posts are extracts from the forthcoming new edition of The Global Minotaur. Bankruptocracy, as I have argued in Chapter 8 of my Global Minotaur, is as much of a European predicament as it is an American ‘invention’. The difference between […]