Economic History Archives - Page 3 of 4

Buffett v the Landesbank – the US gets paid to have a trade deficit

26th March 2016

Economic History, Finance & Asset Pricing, Theory & Other Problems

It remains conventional wisdom that the US current account deficit is the accumulation of a debt that will one day need to be repaid. There are very good reasons to believe this is false. The US in fact has ne...

The economics of language: David Hume & valuing Facebook

Eric Lonergan

19th February 2016

Definitions of Money, Economic History, Theory & Other Problems

14

David Hume is the first great thinker to identify language, law and money as 'spontaneous' institutions of social organisation. Hume was on to something quite profound, which remains under-appreciated. Langu...

Accounting as religion: Buffett, Derrida, and MMT

Eric Lonergan

17th January 2016

Definitions of Money, Economic History, Theory & Other Problems

89

A number of my recent posts seem to have wound up some of the more sensitive ‘mainstream’ economists, who don't like the suggestion that the likes of Minsky deserve their own 'school’. Some philosophers of sc...

More on eclecticism

Eric Lonergan

15th January 2016

Economic History, Theory & Other Problems

“Experience has shown that Mother Nature is eclectic” - Paul Samuelson This recent blog on the merits of eclecticism in macroeconomics seems to have resonated. It follows a theme Dani Rodrik has advocate...

Paul Krugman is right – our models may be better than Larry’s instincts

Eric Lonergan

12th January 2016

Economic History, Finance & Asset Pricing, Money in Europe, Uncategorised

The debate between Larry Summers, Brad DeLong and Paul Krugman over models and confidence is summarised excellently by Martin Sandbu. On one point, Krugman is absolutely right: there was never any reason to be ...

The case for eclecticism

Eric Lonergan

9th January 2016

Economic History, Theory & Other Problems

5

Most macroeconomists have a mental model of how the economy works. I think there are five relevant mental frameworks: Keynesian. This is the approach that most people are taught in high school and un...

Reply to Brad (Part II) – Pigou, Haberler, Friedman v Hicks, Hansen, Krugman

Eric Lonergan

12th June 2015

Economic History

3

I agree with Brad DeLong that Paul Krugman has correctly diagnosed most of the big global economic calls since the mid-1990s. My beef is with his policy prescription. The issue at stake is how to get out of a ...

Keynes and Friedman are always right: a reply to DeLong & Krugman

Eric Lonergan

7th June 2015

Economic History

5

Brad DeLong has an interesting rule of thumb: if you want to understand the economy since the mid-1990s, Paul Krugman is always right. And if you ever think he's wrong ... Don't. I disagree, and a detour into ...

The “Pigou effect” is smarter than you think, and more relevant than ever

Eric Lonergan

5th April 2015

Economic History, Helicopter Money, Monetary Policy, Theory & Other Problems

6

I was taught to dismiss the Pigou effect. Arthur Cecil Pigou (or “Pig” if you believe spell-check) was a great Cambridge economic theorist, known to most of us as the object of Keynes’s repeated ridicule in the...

Was Milton Friedman the last economist?

Eric Lonergan

3rd April 2015

Economic History

7

Macroeconomics can lead policy-making or it can follow it. Since Milton Friedman, and Robert Lucas, it has been following. Friedman was an important macroeconomist because he diagnosed what was failing in the ...

Buffett v the Landesbank – the US gets paid to have a trade deficit

The economics of language: David Hume & valuing Facebook

Accounting as religion: Buffett, Derrida, and MMT

More on eclecticism

Paul Krugman is right – our models may be better than Larry’s instincts

The case for eclecticism

Reply to Brad (Part II) – Pigou, Haberler, Friedman v Hicks, Hansen, Krugman

Keynes and Friedman are always right: a reply to DeLong & Krugman

The “Pigou effect” is smarter than you think, and more relevant than ever

Was Milton Friedman the last economist?

Reviews of Eric’s book

CNBC: market sell-off is ‘noise’

Monetary policy & babysitting: why rates are so low, and ‘what’s next?’