Finance

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

James Galbraith says academic economics is in need of radical reform

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

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

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

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