Friday, June 21, 2013

From economic defeatism to joining the Euro


Recent  blog posts include:
  • Economic defeatism - 'Liquidate the banks, liquidate the rottenness out of the economy!' - In economics, there is often a mindset that we have to sit back and endure economic hardship, it harks back to the strange political appeal of austerity. However, there is always a choice - when a policymaker talks of the necessary economic pain, it is usually based on misguided macro-policy. 'It need not be like this.'
  • ZLB - Zero lower bound rate explained  - effectively when interest rates fall to zero and can't be cut anymore. What the ZLB means for economies, and what can be done to overcome the ZLB
  • Flexible fiscal and monetary policy - a look at how we might shape future fiscal and monetary policy learning from mistakes of past five years.
  • Pensioners better off, young people worse off - perhaps time to end free bus travel for OAPs and give it to the unemployed instead?
  • Latvia to join the Euro - is there really any case to risk joining the Euro club and risk prolonged depression and unemployment like several existing Euro members?
  • If the UK had been in the Euro, how would the UK economy be faring now? - It's hard to see anything but a worse situation.
EU employment rates 
EU employment rates. Unemployment upto 12%

Economics explained

  • Shock therapy - Want to move to a free market economy? Shock therapy says it's best to do all in one go. Radical reforms make the change, whatever the cost - a mixture of results from chaos of Russia to relative 'success' of Poland.
  • Does government debt lead to slower economic growth? - a look behind the theory of a controversial topic.
  • Securitisation - what it is and  how it contributed to the credit crunch

Readers Questions


debt-under-labour

External links

No comments: