Archive

Trump’s surprise win areas looked like a drug overdose map

What would global trade without the U.S. at the helm look like? INET Global Commissioner Danny Quah investigates.

A financial industry safety net enriches bankers and their shareholders — at our expense

George Soros and Rob Johnson Discuss the Causes and Consequences of the 2008 Financial Crisis

Ten years after Lehman Brothers’ collapse, the Wall Street casino is running amok

INET Oxford’s Brian Nolan writes on his new book for VoxEU

In 2008 a global financial meltdown was just barely contained. But Adam Tooze says that the crisis of confidence has had long aftershocks

Distracted by the perceived threat of a Chinese savings glut, mainstream macroeconomists missed the writing on the wall of the 2008 crisis

INET Chairman Adair Turner reflects on the 2008 financial crisis on Bloomberg TV

Been following Larry Summers and Joe Stiglitz’s debate over secular stagnation? Check out their INET work on the topic here and decide for yourself who makes the better case.

Both before 2008 and today, there’s a disturbing tendency in Washington to not take mortgage fraud seriously

Before 2008, mainstream economics thought a global economic crisis on the scale of the Great Depression was impossible. Then Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy. A decade later, INET looks back at the causes of the global financial crisis, and what policymakers—and economists—must change to prevent another one.

Despite disparate policy beliefs, MMT and orthodox macro rely on many of the same theoretical foundations

10 years later, Nobel laureate George Akerlof says the walls within economics need to come down

In Europe and the United States, stock-based compensation discourages long-term corporate sustainability

Ten years ago, the financial crisis washed away faith and trust in economics as a guide to social prosperity. Filling a void is difficult. We are still hard at work. 

This paper adds to the empirical evidence on the extent to which stock-based pay incentivizes and rewards European corporate executives. It shows that the actual realized gains (that is, take-home compensation) from stock-based pay of CEOs in European publicly-listed firms may be underestimated by the use of “estimated fair value” measures. The paper also documents the heterogeneity among countries in terms of the levels and components of CEO take-home pay. We base our work on a sample of 301 large, publicly-traded companies listed in the S&P Europe 350 index from 11 EU countries: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom for the fiscal year 2015. Through analyzing companies’ annual reports, we have hand-collected data on various elements of compensation of the company’s CEO in 2015, including the gains that executives realize from stock-based pay. We document that on average half of the total compensation of the European CEOs in our sample is stock-based, measured by actual realized gains, with large differences among countries. Although in some European countries the majority of total compensation is stock-based, the proportions are still well below those that prevail in the

When a small group of companies can dominate a labor market, wages—and workers—suffer

Winnie Byanyima shows how we all suffer when corporations evade taxes

Expanding, rather than cutting, Social Security is the solution

The American Prospect highlights William Lazonick’s INET paper on US Pharma’s Financialized Business Model.

The Economics of Innovation Working group and the Economic History Working Group together with the Département d’histoire, économie et société at the University of Geneva, are launching the event Political Economy of Capitalism to be held in Geneva, Switzerland, on 27-28-29 August 2018.

It’s not just Turkey­—from India to Indonesia, external financial liabilities are a looming threat

To understand labor productivity—and growing inequality—you have to look at the “dual economy”

“Dualism” in the structure of production across sectors of the US economy, employment by sector, productivity levels and growth, real wages, and intersectoral terms-of trade increased markedly between 1990 and 2016.

In China, the government uses the purses strings of state-owned enterprises to control social unrest

Behind sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll were moral values, says music industry veteran Danny Goldberg

Using datasets on transactions within business groups and social sentiment in China, I show that state-owned enterprises (SOEs) use internal funds to address social unrest, complying with the government’s political goals.

The anthropologist David Graeber has argued that as much as 30% of all work is performed in “bullshit jobs,” which are unnecessary to produce truly valuable goods and services but arise from competition for income and status. But the deeper problem is that more and more economic activity performs a merely distributive function.

WNYC interviews Michael Greenberger about his INET paper on the unregulated derivatives market, and the threat it poses to the global financial system

The Washington Post cites William Lazonick’s INET paper on shareholder value

Young Scholars based in Africa are invited to convene in Harare, Zimbabwe. The event serves to strengthen the African network of new economic thinkers pursuing a new economic paradigm. Attendees will be able to attend the annual conference of the Zimbabwe Historical Association in the same trip.

Young Scholars based in Africa are invited to convene in Harare, Zimbabwe. The event serves to strengthen the African network of new economic thinkers, in pursuit of a new economic paradigm. Attendees will be able to the annual conference of the Zimbabwe Historical Association in the same trip.

Vox cites William Lazonick’s INET paper on shareholder value

INET Global Commissioner Peter Bofinger breaks down cryptocurrencies, and why they’re actually far from “anonymous”

Watch music industry veteran Shep Gordon and INET President Rob Johnson talk about how reality TV, celebrity chefs, and surfing explain American politics and economy today.

A new report examines the path to global social progress. Unfortunately, there are no easy answers

Cryptocurrency is one of the hottest topics in finance, yet it is often misunderstood, both by the general public and self-proclaimed “experts.” In this collection, members of the INET community offer a broader look at the economics of cryptocurrency, and money itself.

State-issued digital money may avoid some pitfalls of cryptocurrency, but it’s no financial panacea

Sheila Dow and Antonella Stirati bring their scholarly expertise to INET’s research advisory group

Zephyr Teachout and Morris Pearl cite Michael Greenberger’s INET paper in an op-ed in the Albany Times Union

Dennis Kelleher of Better Markets explains how we can stop the financial industry from gaming Washington

Arminio Fraga and Richard Vague bring their economic expertise to INET

To understand the rise of the League and 5 Star Movement, look at economic indicators

The workshop aims to bring together experienced researchers with young scholars in the fields of Innovation, Economic Complexity and Economic Geography to understand knowledge accumulation and spillovers through products, people and places. Those interested in interdisciplinary research, especially bridging a gap between these topics are strongly encouraged to apply. 

How corporate raiders coopted “shareholder democracy” for their own ends

This paper explains how hedge-fund activists are exerting power over corporate resourceallocation far in excess of the actual voting power of their shareholdings.

Places hit hardest by austerity cuts were more likely to vote for UKIP and Leave

Gay men earn 20% less than straight men, but gay women earn up to 20% more than straight women. Why?

The YSI Economic History Working Group invites scholars to submit their research on alternative perspectives and different approaches to the study of economic history. The workshop will take place on 29 July, 2018, in Boston, Massachusetts, preceding the World Economic History Congress (29 July  - 3 August).

Journal rankings are a rigged game. The blacklist of history of economic thought journals isn’t a fluke nor a conspiracy—it exposes how citation rankings really work

James Galbraith says academic economics is in need of radical reform

Alissa Quart’s new book chronicles the pain of a disgruntled class that could change the country’s political landscape.

Clear rules and sound principles for debt restructuring would level the playing field between developing countries and creditors

The Latin America Working Group and the Keynesian Economic Working Group of the Young Scholars Initiative (YSI) of the Institute of New Economic Thinking (INET) are hosting the workshop “Technology, Globalization and the Environment: Latin American Development in the XXI Century” to be held at the headquarters of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UN-ECLAC) in Santiago de Chile on the 23-24 July 2018.

The New York Times features Michael Greenberger’s INET paper on how banks evade derivatives regulation

Young Scholars based in Latin America are invited to convene in Buenos Aires. The event serves to strengthen the Latin American network of new economic thinkers pursuing a new economic paradigm. Attendees will be able to enjoy several partner events during the same week.

Journalist Steven Brill discusses how the U.S. lost sight of the common good

13 million people looking for living wage work is not a “full employment” economy

The social and medical sciences depend on randomised control trials – though they face more assumptions and biases than commonly thought.

This small interdisciplinary workshop, is organized by the Azim Premji University, Institute for Policy Dialogue and the Institute for New Economic Thinking. The goal of the workshop is to bring together graduate students studying development studies at a sufficiently advanced stage of their dissertation work to be able to discuss and receive feedback on their research.

Was Martin Luther King a socialist? New book may surprise you.

The YSI Economic Development Working Group will host a series of panels at the annual conference of the Association for Heterodox Economics, with the goal of developing an innovative research program on productive structures, institutions, distribution, and economic development. 

This three-day summer academy and annual meeting of the Finance, Law, and Economics Working Group aims to bring together graduate students and young professionals pursuing careers in international economic law. By learning from prominent academics and practitioners in the field, participants will develop the fundamental skills to handle multi-jurisdictional and interdisciplinary issues, while broadening their networks. After successful attendance, YSI FLE will issue the corresponding certificates.

Matias Vernengo explains how economic crises reveal the nakedness of neoliberal policies

Fast Company covers Michael Greenberger’s paper for INET on how banks evade regulation of credit default swaps

YSI is hosting sessions at the 2018 STOREP conference.

Fred Block says capitalism is not an unchanging monolith—which means we can make it better

From 28-30 June the Italian Association for the History of Political Economy will be gathering in Genova to ask the question “Whatever has happened to political economy?”.  Before the start of the conference, Rethinking Economics and the YSI Philosophy of Economics Working Group will host a workshop to discuss a related question: “Whatever happened to economics?”. Professor Geoffrey Hodgson will participate in our discussion.

The Koch brothers scandal at George Mason University

Forbes cites our interview with Jim Chanos on Bitcoin

When politics is defined in terms of “populism” vs. “the mainstream,” the possibility for real economic reform is diminished.

Edoardo Nesi’s new book tracks the destructive march of globalization and neoliberal capitalism through his own life and the places, like Italy, that lie broken in its wake.

A light-hearted economic analysis of the World Cup

70 years ago today, Edward A. Tenenbaum helped pull off an astounding feat—successfully reforming Germany’s currency after World War II

Michael Greenberger says unregulated credit default swaps could take down the economy—and taxpayers—again

By evading regulation of credit default swaps, the major U.S. banks put taxpayers—and the entire economy—at risk

NPR’s All Things Considered features Michael Greenberger’s INET Working Paper on how banks evade credit default swaps regulation

Bloomberg covers Michael Greenberger’s paper for INET on how banks evade regulation of credit default swaps

Converting an Obscure Agency Footnote into an “At Will” Nullification of Dodd-Frank’s Regulation of the Multi-Trillion Dollar Financial Swaps Market

The YSI Gender and Economics Working Group will host a workshop during the pre-conference of the 27th IAFFE Annual Conference. Members of the Gender and Economics WG will also be welcomed to take part in the workshop and mentoring activities organized by IAFFE in the pre-conference.  

The election of Italy’s right-wing, populist government exposes the economic and democratic shortcomings of the European project and its nationalist rivals

The symposium focuses on the various paradigms of economic and social policy at work in the Scandinavian countries, in light of the most recent macroeconomic developments given by increased inequality, population ageing and automation.

In a complex world, we’ll experience more “black swans”, and the things that standard economic models assumed away will matter much more.

A change in macroeconomic policies will not be sufficient to set Argentina on a path of inclusive and sustained economic development. But, as last month’s currency scare showed, abandoning the approach adopted by President Mauricio Macri’s administration at the end of 2015 is a necessary step.

The World Bank and IMF say developing economies can’t afford to have strong labor laws. Actually, they can’t afford not to.

The removal of term limits for Xi Jinping may be a better indicator of economic health—or crisis—than official statistics

In “celebration” of the late Pete Peterson’s 92nd birthday (see guest list), an excerpt from 19th Century historian Lord Macaulay’s History of England, on hundreds of years of unwarranted panic about government debt.

The economist had to learn moral philosophy before anything else—an underpinning that’s still helpful for today’s students

Labor market regulation is a controversial area of public policy in both developed and developing countries.

The Institute of New Economic Thinking Young Scholars Initiative (INET YSI) Working Group on the History of Economic Thought is organizing a YSI Workshop on Institutions and Communities in the History of Economic Thought on 6 June in Madrid, Spain, ahead of the Annual ESHET Conference

Business Insider cites our interview with Jim Chanos on Bitcoin

Marketwatch cites our interview with Jim Chanos on Bitcoin

CNBC cites our interview with Jim Chanos on Bitcoin

The “dean of short sellers” says bitcoin is the last thing he’d want to own in the event of a catastrophe.

Quartz features INET President Rob Johnson on INET Co-Founder George Soros’s plan to save the EU

As in previous years, young scholars will come together in Trento during the annual Festival dell’Economia. This gathering will serve as the YSI Europe Convening for 2018. Attendees will have the opportunity to share their work with YSI members from across Europe, while also partaking in the Festival dell’Economia. 

Nobel laureate James Buchanan is the intellectual linchpin of the Koch-funded attack on democratic institutions, argues Duke historian Nancy MacLean

Economist James K. Boyce argues that the distribution of carbon tax revenue is just as important as the price itself