Columbia University's renowned economist Jeffrey Sachs talks about the lessons he has learned from consulting with governments around the world, about how global problems, such as the war in Ukraine, will only be solved via efforts to understand the other side, never through force.
Reading
James M. Buchanan's defenders argue he was not racist because of his ties with the anti-apartheid economist W.H. Hutt, but this defense fails miserably
The great student of rhetoric Kenneth Burke described the output of his era’s “debunkers” in a manner that also captures the conduct of many libertarians who have rallied to the defense of Nobel Laureate James M. Buchanan over the past few years. "It would seem they are no longer seeking good arguments; rather they are seeking any arguments, if only there be enough of them to keep running through the headlines,” wrote Burke. “Are there no eagles among their utterances? Very well, let them be instead a swarm of mosquitoes.”
One swarm of mosquitos let loose by the sentries of the libertarian cause circles around the South African economist, William Harold Hutt. Buchanan’s acolytes are adamant that his support of tax-funded subsidies for segregated private schools in the midst of Virginia’s Massive Resistance to Brown v. Board of Education had nothing to do with a racist preference for the maintenance of separate schools.
Despite his opposition to South Africa's apartheid, Hutt embraced notions of black inferiority
During the Queen's Silver Jubilee in 1977 a ghostly figure was spotted by alarmed viewers in a BBC broadcast. The spectre appeared to be sitting beside the Queen in her carriage. The apparition's identity remains unknown, though some claim it is Scarfolk resident Herbert Empire.
Audiobook: Justice is an option
I've been immersed in monetary theory for several years. At one point I realised that money-as-we-know-it and markets are actually just two aspects of the same idea, and that the two evolve together. So saying, I've read a lot about money, its sociology, history, philosophy etc, but very little about markets.
This book is about modern financial markets more than money, but it does talk about monetary creation events such as quantitative easing, and the markets' need for various quantities of money. The title of the book is a pun, because the book is really about traded options, financial instruments that allow you to buy or sell assets at a known price in the future. Options provide a sort of insurance against the vicissitudes of the markets and can make doing business a bit more predictable.
The fundamental price of an option has 2 components:
An obituary for Axel Leijunhufvud (Sept 6, 1933 - May 5, 2022)
Axel Leijunhufvud’s sad passing on May 5th has rightly stimulated a round of tributes to a thinker of uncommon breadth. But there is perhaps reason to doubt how widely appreciated the diversity of his thinking really was. Leijunhufvud changed the colors of his economic reasoning in response to many strands of 20th-century discussion, repainting each one. He had an ample palette and his color mixes were always interesting – an artist of macroeconomics indeed. Never lacking confidence and blessed with understated charisma, he was a member of one of Sweden’s oldest aristocratic families. Lionhead is a literal translation of his surname. (Old Swedish noble names can be peculiar. For example, Oxstars and Swineheads still roam the land.)
Corporate responsibility needs to evolve if businesses are going to rebuild trust and provide real value for society.
The “Beige Book” adds anecdotal context to other data and analysis economists use. Researchers gave an inside look at how information for the report is gathered.
To order our latest book, sold to support the RSPCA, please visit our online store: https://dwas-store.sumup.link
Join actors, writers and production crew from the world of Doctor Who as they relate moving and hilarious stories about their own very special pets, including contributions from:
This is a piece I did for Crikey I’d forgotten I’d written and hadn’t put it up here. So now I have. The article was spotted by someone who has been exposing just how much damage opening up Congressional committee … Continue reading
As always, if you find value in this work I do, please consider helping me keep it sustainable by joining my weekly newsletter, Sparky’s List! You can get it in your inbox or read it on Patreon, the content is the same.
The world could vaccinate everyone who wants be vaccinated, but hasn’t. Vaccine apartheid tells us something about how the world is (or isn’t) responding to the climate crisis, too: But […]
In this discussion, Peyton Bowman and I discuss my term ‘fast-foodification’. I coined the word trying to describe modern politics. The techniques used by politicians and their professional enablers are optimised to attract votes in the same way that McDonalds and … Continue reading
Abbott speaking at the NRA Convention in Houston today, just days after the school shooting, inspired me to draw this.VOTE BETO, Texas!
Fans attending Paul McCartney’s show at Wake Forest University’s Truist Field in Winston-Salem, NC, braved a drenching thunderstorm that delayed the gates opening an hour, and endured traffic gridlock on the way to the show — and even inside the … Continue reading
I really enjoyed this conversation with my friend Peyton Bowman which celebrates the possibility that Australia might be able to show the world how to push back against the Trumpian madness. We tried to turn Peyton’s lack of inside knowledge … Continue reading
As some of you may know, I am now publishing a weekly substack of articles I’ve found interesting on the net and in some cases offering some summary commentary. In an unprecedented move, the kind of once in a 1,000 … Continue reading
Originally published on The Interpreter. Two federal elections ago, in 2016, the primary vote for the Labor Party and the Liberal-Nationals coalition reached record lows, while the number of voters who put an independent or minor party first on their … Continue reading
Four members of the St. Louis Fed Asian Employee Resource Group shared a little about their culture and what AAPI Heritage Month means to them.
This paper econometrically models the dynamics of the Chilean interbank swap yields based on macroeconomic factors. It examines whether the month-over-month change in the short-term interest rate has a decisive influence on the long-term swap yield after controlling for other factors, such as the change in inflation, change in the growth of industrial production, change in the log of the equity price index, and change in the log of the exchange rate.
"Are you amongst us, spirit? Wake up, be bright, be golden and light. Bagpuss, oh hear what I sing..."
From page 37 of the Children's Guide To Séances & Cuddly Demons (Scarfolk Books, 1973). The book encouraged children to contact the apparitions of children's deceased television stars. It was banned briefly, however, in 1975 when Noddy and Big Ears, deranged by their time in the spirit world, broke through to the earthly realm and wreaked havoc in a branch of Marks & Spencer, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage. Additionally, a priest had to be called to perform an exorcism over the shop's entire stock of varicose vein support tights.
Once again , PEF will be at the Canadian Economics Association (CEA) annual conference! We now have the official schedule for the 2022 CEA meetings to be held at Carleton University, Ottawa. The conference will be on-line Tuesday, May 31 and in-person Friday, June 3 and Saturday, June 4. Please note that in addition to the sessions below, the PEF [...]