There is a new policy for growth in town – one that is neither particularly new nor likely to result in growth. Having conceded that contractionary fiscal expansion failed but not yet being ready to go for expansionary fiscal expansion, economic policy makers are trying their luck with ‘inflate and depreciate’. This is the mood … Continue reading Why ‘Inflate and Depreciate’ Won’t Work
Category: Journalism
No Policy without Theory
In a recent article in the New Statesman, Vince Cable responded to some of my arguments against austerity. The Business Secretary commended me for lifting ‘the dispiritingly low level of public debate’. A week and a bit later, Lord Mandelson, the former Business Secretary of the Brown Government criticised the current Labour Shadow Treasurer Ed … Continue reading No Policy without Theory
The Chávez Way
I remember the exact date of my visit to Venezuela. I was sunbathing by the pool on the roof of the Caracas Hilton. A waiter came up to me and mumbled something about a bomb attack in New York. I rushed to my room and saw the news footage, endlessly replayed, of two airplanes crashing … Continue reading The Chávez Way
Vince Cable responds to Skidelsky New Statesman piece
Vince Cable has responded to Robert Skidelsky's September 2012 article on the economy, 'Go left, go right… go downhill'. You can read Cable's article here at the New Statesman website: http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/politics/2013/03/when-facts-change-should-i-change-my-mind And Robert Skidelsky's original piece, here: http://www.skidelskyr.com/site/article/go-left-go-right-go-downhill/
Sweden – a false icon for Thatcherites
It is ironic that social democratic Sweden has become a Thatcherite icon. They say that cuts in public spending were the main cause of Sweden’s economic recovery from the slump of 1992-3. Most experts think that the 30% devaluation of the krona was rather more important. Now Fraser Nelson has written a piece in the … Continue reading Sweden – a false icon for Thatcherites
The Rise of the Robots
What impact will automation – the so-called “rise of the robots” – have on wages and employment over the coming decades? Nowadays, this question crops up whenever unemployment rises. In the early nineteenth century, David Ricardo considered the possibility that machines would replace labor; Karl Marx followed him. Around the same time, the Luddites smashed … Continue reading The Rise of the Robots
The Rise of the Robots
What impact will automation – the so-called “rise of the robots” – have on wages and employment over the coming decades? Nowadays, this question crops up whenever unemployment rises. In the early nineteenth century, David Ricardo considered the possibility that machines would replace labor; Karl Marx followed him. Around the same time, the Luddites smashed … Continue reading The Rise of the Robots
Supply matters – but so does demand
Co-authored with Marcus Miller At long last, the defenders of George Osborne’s deficit-reduction strategy have come up with a reasoned case. The thoughtful argument in support of the UK chancellor is made by Ryan Bourne and Tim Knox, economists at the centre-right Centre for Policy Studies think-tank. They say that Britain suffered a huge supply … Continue reading Supply matters – but so does demand
Puttnam and the Defamation Bill
As one who spoke and voted for Lord Puttnam's amendments to the Defamation Bill passed in the Lords on February 6, may I say that Matthew Parris's attack on the amendments misses the point. The Puttnam amendments remedy two major omissions from the Bill: its failure to deal with the question of costs and its … Continue reading Puttnam and the Defamation Bill
High-speed rail could set Britain – and Europe – on the path to recovery
The chancellor's fiscal policy has been a disaster – a growth-first strategy driven by a bond-funded HS2 could be the answer When George Osborne took over the Treasury, he decided that fiscal policy would be governed not by the state of the real economy but by the state of the public finances, as measured by … Continue reading High-speed rail could set Britain – and Europe – on the path to recovery
Robert Skidelsky 