Blogs

The Austrian Institute for Economic Research in collaboration with several other major European research centers has just released two policy briefs on a new growth strategy for Europe. Both are of interest to anyone concerned with the European crisis. Links to the English language versions are available below. The first paper is concerned with general strategies for reviving Europe as a unit. It outlines the road taken by European leaders against the backdrop of possible alternatives. The second paper deals with the problems of the peripheral countries, mostly in southern Europe that are now deep in recession. Read more

Young scholars at the EBRD meeting in Turkey

Erik Berglöf, chief economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and governing board member of the Institute for New Economic Thinking, knows a good thing when he sees it. Read more

Since the Reagan/Thatcher era, it has been common to view politics vs. infrastructure as simply a battle between right wing forces attempting to privatize infrastructure and others trying to defend it. However, this is only the recent history of United States infrastructure policy. Read more

By Nathaniel Cline and Nathan Cedric Tankus

Organizational capacity Read more

Last week I did a small research about the impact of the anti-corruption campaign on China's retail sales growth. While some analysts argue that the anti-corruption campaign by top party leaders has dragged down overall retail sales growth, my findings do not suport this argument.  My study suggests that the slowdown of retail sales is a multi-year trend and it has been in line with the slowdown of GDP growth. While anti-corruption does affect luxury goods sales, overall retail sales may not be affected as many think. Read more

Dr. Vamsi Vakulabharanam, an associate professor of economics at the University of Hyderabad and a grantee of the Institute for New Economic Thinking, has won the prestigious Amartya Sen Award, a newly instituted honor given by the Indian Council for Social Sciences Research (ICSSR). In recognition of his distinguished work, Dr. Vamsi will receive a citation, a plaque, and a cash award of Rs 10 lakhs. Read more

In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, many of our policy makers and top economists are still stumbling in the dark.

One needn’t look far for proof. The symptoms of their failure are everywhere. Financial markets remain too volatile and crises too common. Inequality is raging and increasing around the globe. And environmental damage continues unabated, with rising climate volatility belying claims that we can experience sustained and broad-based prosperity without major changes in the global economy. Read more

If you're attending the EEA conference look below to see where you'll find stimulating discussions involving the INET community. For the full EEA program click here.

Thursday, May 9

8:00 - 9:20am

Session A1, Economic History

"A Classical-Marxian Model of Slave and Wage Labor
," John Clegg, The New School for Social Research; Duncan Foley, The New School for Social Research Read more

Despite rising stock market prices and more friendly newspaper headlines, the economic picture in the West remains grim.

The current rate of job creation is not only insufficient to replace the jobs lost in the crisis – it can’t even keep up with labor force growth. At the recent pace of job creation, and with the correspondingly perverse embrace of austerity, we not only fall further behind, but also become further locked into the debtor’s prison. Read more

Discussions of centralized planning in the West often take it for granted that the Soviet Union and similar social systems are the only ones with centralized planning. This is a basic (albeit ideological) confusion that results from the belief that markets and centralized planning are incompatible. This is not the case. Read more