Almond prices are soaring. As the following chart shows, some varieties are selling for double the price of five years ago, others for three times more. What is driving the upward price trend? Supply and demand is the easy answer. Behind the supply and demand curves lies a more complex story of nuts, cows, and … Read more
Quite apart from the resolution of debt and banking/credit problems, differences in competitiveness, and external account imbalances, are central considerations impacting on the success or failure of the European experiment with a common currency. This short article looks beyond simple cross-country comparisons of unit labour cost trends and evaluates the role that austerity policies have … Read more
Today’s advance estimate from the Bureau of Economic Analysis showed U.S. real GDP growing at a 2.8 percent annual rate in the third quarter of 2013, the fastest growth reported since early 2012. The estimate, which reflects economic activity from June through September, was not directly affected by October’s government shutdown, although the data release … Read more
Platts publishes an annual Top-250 Energy Companies list while Forbes puts out its own top-25 biggest oil and gas producers list, and in 2013 many of Forbes’ biggest companies do not show up on Platts’ list. The overall picture speaks to the burgeoning diversity and multiplicity of dynamics at play in the global energy sector. … Read more
The sanctions by Washington are undermining the very goals that it would like to achieve with Iran, while dividing the old U.S. allies and strengthening China’s clout in the Middle East. In the past few months, U.S.-Iranian relations have been swept by frantic, though ambivalent efforts at diplomacy. In July, 130 members of Congress sent … Read more
Some time back there was a bit of a kerfluffle when Paul Krugman argued that one shouldn’t bother with Minsky if one wants to understand banking. He went on to present the typical, and fatally flawed, textbook view. See here: https://www.economonitor.com/lrwray/2012/04/02/krugman-versus-minsky-who-should-you-bank-on-when-it-comes-to-banking/, and here: https://www.economonitor.com/lrwray/2013/08/28/krugman-rediscovers-the-wheel-commercial-banks-as-creators-of-money/, for my responses. A new issue of Accounting, Economics and Law … Read more
By Steven Barnett (中文 Version) Less growth in China today will mean higher income in the future. So rather than worry, we should welcome the slowdown in China’s economy. Why? Because by favoring structural reforms over short-term stimulus, China’s leadership is illustrating their commitment to move to a more balanced and sustainable growth model. Current model is … Read more
The United States government spends billions of dollars to protect against attacks by foreign military forces, terrorists, and natural disasters. However, earlier this month it was not prepared for a costly attack on the US economy by domestic forces in Washington: the Senate, the House, and the President. The government was shut down for 16 … Read more
I’ve been meaning to write a blog on a book by my friend, Mariana Mazzucato, titled The Entrepreneurial State. It is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the role played by government in encouraging innovation. For so many years we’ve been sold the notion that our nation’s Undertakers (also called Entrepreneurs or Capitalists) … Read more
Here’s a piece I wrote with Yolanda Fernandez for the Asian Development Bank: Monetary and Fiscal Operations in the People’s Republic of China: An Alternative View of the Options Available http://www.adb.org/publications/monetary-and-fiscal-operations-peoples-republic-china-alternative-view-options-available. You’ve no doubt read various analyses predicting the impending collapse of the Chinese financial sector, and arguments that China cannot continue to grow at … Read more