Theory & Other Problems Archives - Page 5 of 6

Accounting as religion: Buffett, Derrida, and MMT

17th January 2016

Definitions of Money, Economic History, Theory & Other Problems

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...

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...

Sitting on cathedral steps

Eric Lonergan

24th December 2015

Definitions of Money, Theory & Other Problems

5

Confusion in economics often resides in methodology - an area where economists are weak, as Simon Wren-Lewis points out. When we engage in economic analysis it is often unclear whether we are referring to speci...

Democracy in Europe

Eric Lonergan

6th December 2015

Money in Europe, Theory & Other Problems

The ability to print money is a precondition of sovereignty. It is also a cornerstone of modern financial and economic systems. For all the talk of money being created by banks, in a panic it is clear that the ...

Negative interest rates don’t work

Eric Lonergan

27th November 2015

Definitions of Money, Monetary Policy, Theory & Other Problems

12

I have argued that economists should be very wary about advocating steeply negative nominal interest rates. This is a case of basing policy on models which assume what they need to prove. If we assume that cha...

Tobin & the end of banking

Eric Lonergan

9th October 2015

Definitions of Money, Finance & Asset Pricing, Monetary Policy, Theory & Other Problems

21

I'm writing about this subject with some trepidation. Many economists who have entered the fray have made fools of themselves; and many who triumphantly point out their errors usually go on to make some of thei...

The fair division of a windfall

Eric Lonergan

14th September 2015

Monetary Policy, Theory & Other Problems, Uncategorised

2

An interesting debate is occurring over the ethics of granting the central bank power to make cash transfers to households. This is not an academic debate. I think one of the main stumbling blocks to this polic...

Ricardian equivalence: another reason why fiscal policy works

Eric Lonergan

17th June 2015

Austerity, Theory & Other Problems

3

Sometimes the obvious is hard to perceive. Debate about "Ricardian equivalence" may be missing the obvious: forward-looking, ‘rational’ households should expect fiscal policy to work, and their future incomes t...

Taxis, coffee, and another broken equation

Eric Lonergan

3rd June 2015

Theory & Other Problems

4

Standard macroeconomic models are premised on the assumption that recessions occur because of “nominal rigidities” in wages and prices. I’ve never found this convincing. Economists observe that quantities move...

Accounting as religion: Buffett, Derrida, and MMT

More on eclecticism

The case for eclecticism

Sitting on cathedral steps

Democracy in Europe

Negative interest rates don’t work

Tobin & the end of banking

The fair division of a windfall

Ricardian equivalence: another reason why fiscal policy works

Taxis, coffee, and another broken equation

Reviews of Eric’s book

CNBC: market sell-off is ‘noise’

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