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Paul De Grauwe the 66 year old Belgian Economist and Professor emeritus in European Political Economy, and former member of the Belgian Federal Parliament, has published an article on the Project Syndicate titled ‘Debt Without Drowning’. De Grauwe states “Since the 1970’s, economists have warned that a monetary union could not be sustained without a fiscal union. But the eurozone’s leaders have not heeded their advice – and the consequences are becoming increasingly apparent. Europe now faces a difficult choice: either fix this fundamental design flaw and move toward fiscal union, or abandon the common currency. Choosing the latter option would have devastating consequences. Indeed, while the desirability of establishing a monetary union may have been open to question in the 1990’s, dismantling the eurozone now would trigger profound economic, social, and political upheaval throughout Europe. To avoid this outcome, Europe’s leaders must begin designing and implementing strategies aimed at bringing the eurozone closer to a fiscal union. To be sure, a fiscal union such as that in the United States is a distant prospect that eurozone leaders should not expect to achieve any time soon – or even in their lifetimes. But that does not mean that establishing a fiscal union is a chimera. Small steps in the right direction now can make a significant difference. …the eurozone is gripped by an existential crisis that is slowly, but inexorably, destroying the monetary union’s very foundations. The only way to stem the erosion is to take determined action that convinces financial markets that the eurozone is here to stay. A debt-pooling scheme that satisfies the requirements outlined here would signal that the eurozone member countries are serious about sticking together. Without this gesture, further market turmoil is inevitable – and the eurozone’s collapse will become only a matter of time.”  Inspired by Paul De Grauwe, Project Syndicate ow.ly/l2YzK Image source kuleuven ow.ly/l2YmE Debt Without Drowning (June 1 2013)

 

Paul De Grauwe the 66 year old Belgian Economist and Professor emeritus in European Political Economy, and former member of the Belgian Federal Parliament, has published an article on the Project Syndicate titled ‘Debt Without Drowning’. De Grauwe states “Since the 1970’s, economists have warned that a monetary union could not be sustained without a fiscal union. But the eurozone’s leaders have not heeded their advice – and the consequences are becoming increasingly apparent. Europe now faces a difficult choice: either fix this fundamental design flaw and move toward fiscal union, or abandon the common currency. Choosing the latter option would have devastating consequences. Indeed, while the desirability of establishing a monetary union may have been open to question in the 1990’s, dismantling the eurozone now would trigger profound economic, social, and political upheaval throughout Europe. To avoid this outcome, Europe’s leaders must begin designing and implementing strategies aimed at bringing the eurozone closer to a fiscal union. To be sure, a fiscal union such as that in the United States is a distant prospect that eurozone leaders should not expect to achieve any time soon – or even in their lifetimes. But that does not mean that establishing a fiscal union is a chimera. Small steps in the right direction now can make a significant difference. …the eurozone is gripped by an existential crisis that is slowly, but inexorably, destroying the monetary union’s very foundations. The only way to stem the erosion is to take determined action that convinces financial markets that the eurozone is here to stay. A debt-pooling scheme that satisfies the requirements outlined here would signal that the eurozone member countries are serious about sticking together. Without this gesture, further market turmoil is inevitable – and the eurozone’s collapse will become only a matter of time.”

 

Inspired by Paul De Grauwe, Project Syndicate ow.ly/l2YzK Image source kuleuven ow.ly/l2YmE

Roberto Savio the Italian Economist , journalist and international communications consultant, founder of the IPS News Service has published an article on the service titled ‘Switzerland Sets Example for Income Equality’. Savio states “For those who think that Occupy Wall Street, the Indignados in Spain, the World Social Forum and the numerous manifestations of protest worldwide are expressions without concrete outcomes, the result of the Swiss referendum on Mar. 3 on capping the salaries and bonuses of banks executives should make them think twice. Like it or not, two-thirds of the Swiss, who are not exactly a revolutionary people, have given the shareholders of financial institutions the right to decide salaries and bonuses of their executives. Another referendum — on limiting the salaries and bonuses of company executives from all sectors to a figure that does not exceed 15 times that of the average salary of their employees — is due shortly. At the same time the European Commission and the European Parliament have reached an agreement on capping bank executives’ bonuses at an amount equal to their annual salary. If the shareholders decide, it can be twice their annual salary, but no more. …people are getting fed up, as the Swiss referendum has clearly shown. Everywhere discontent is seeping into the polls, with protest parties flourishing everywhere. We are in transition to a different system. This can be done through peaceful and cooperative means, or by a continuation of this growing social injustice. History has many lessons on this issue, and it is useless to recall them. We all read them at school, even the 100 billionaires. So, as the Swiss referendum shows, it is not awareness that is lacking: it is political will.”  Inspired by Roberto Savio, IPS News Service ow.ly/jBfFB Image source Gc-Council ow.ly/jBfEv Switzerland sets example for income equality (April 29 2013)

 

Roberto Savio the Italian Economist , journalist and international communications consultant, founder of the IPS News Service has published an article on the service titled ‘Switzerland Sets Example for Income Equality’. Savio states “For those who think that Occupy Wall Street, the Indignados in Spain, the World Social Forum and the numerous manifestations of protest worldwide are expressions without concrete outcomes, the result of the Swiss referendum on Mar. 3 on capping the salaries and bonuses of banks executives should make them think twice. Like it or not, two-thirds of the Swiss, who are not exactly a revolutionary people, have given the shareholders of financial institutions the right to decide salaries and bonuses of their executives. Another referendum — on limiting the salaries and bonuses of company executives from all sectors to a figure that does not exceed 15 times that of the average salary of their employees — is due shortly. At the same time the European Commission and the European Parliament have reached an agreement on capping bank executives’ bonuses at an amount equal to their annual salary. If the shareholders decide, it can be twice their annual salary, but no more. …people are getting fed up, as the Swiss referendum has clearly shown. Everywhere discontent is seeping into the polls, with protest parties flourishing everywhere. We are in transition to a different system. This can be done through peaceful and cooperative means, or by a continuation of this growing social injustice. History has many lessons on this issue, and it is useless to recall them. We all read them at school, even the 100 billionaires. So, as the Swiss referendum shows, it is not awareness that is lacking: it is political will.”

 

Inspired by Roberto Savio, IPS News Service ow.ly/jBfFB Image source Gc-Council ow.ly/jBfEv

Jean Pisani-Ferry the 61 year old French Professor, economist and public policy expert, currently the Director of Bruegel a Brussels-based economic think tank, has published an article on the Project Syndicate titled ‘Is the Euro Crisis Over?’. Pisani-Ferry states “Financial crises tend to start abruptly and end by surprise. Three years ago, the euro crisis began when Greece became a cause for concern among policymakers and a cause for excitement among money managers. Since the end of 2012, a sort of armistice has prevailed. Does that mean that the crisis is over? By the usual standards of financial crises, three years is a long time. A year after the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008, confidence in the United States’ financial system had been restored, and recovery had begun. A little more than a year after the 1997 exchange-rate debacle triggered Asian economies’ worst recession in decades, they were thriving again. Has the eurozone, at long last, reached the inflection point? Many battles were fought in the last three years – over Greece, Ireland, Spain, and Italy, to name the main ones. The European Union’s financial warriors are exhausted. Hedge funds first made money betting that the crisis would worsen, but then lost money betting on a eurozone breakup. Policymakers first lost credibility by being behind the curve, and then recouped some of it by embracing bold initiatives. Recent data suggest that capital has started returning to southern Europe. The current change in market sentiment is also motivated by two significant policy changes. First, European leaders agreed in June 2012 on a major overhaul of the eurozone. By embarking on a banking union, which will transfer to the European level responsibility for bank supervision… Second, by launching its new “outright monetary transactions” scheme in September, the European Central Bank took responsibility for preserving the integrity of the eurozone…”  Inspired by Jean Pisani-Ferry, Project Sync ow.ly/j4ps2 Image source Twitter ow.ly/j4p4X Is the Euro Crisis Over? (April 3 2013)

 

Jean Pisani-Ferry the 61 year old French Professor, economist and public policy expert, currently the Director of Bruegel a Brussels-based economic think tank, has published an article on the Project Syndicate titled ‘Is the Euro Crisis Over?’. Pisani-Ferry states “Financial crises tend to start abruptly and end by surprise. Three years ago, the euro crisis began when Greece became a cause for concern among policymakers and a cause for excitement among money managers. Since the end of 2012, a sort of armistice has prevailed. Does that mean that the crisis is over? By the usual standards of financial crises, three years is a long time. A year after the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008, confidence in the United States’ financial system had been restored, and recovery had begun. A little more than a year after the 1997 exchange-rate debacle triggered Asian economies’ worst recession in decades, they were thriving again. Has the eurozone, at long last, reached the inflection point? Many battles were fought in the last three years – over Greece, Ireland, Spain, and Italy, to name the main ones. The European Union’s financial warriors are exhausted. Hedge funds first made money betting that the crisis would worsen, but then lost money betting on a eurozone breakup. Policymakers first lost credibility by being behind the curve, and then recouped some of it by embracing bold initiatives. Recent data suggest that capital has started returning to southern Europe. The current change in market sentiment is also motivated by two significant policy changes. First, European leaders agreed in June 2012 on a major overhaul of the eurozone. By embarking on a banking union, which will transfer to the European level responsibility for bank supervision… Second, by launching its new “outright monetary transactions” scheme in September, the European Central Bank took responsibility for preserving the integrity of the eurozone…”

 

Inspired by Jean Pisani-Ferry, Project Sync ow.ly/j4ps2 Image source Twitter ow.ly/j4p4X

Anatole Kaletsky the British journalist and economist named Newspaper Commentator of the Year in the BBC’s What the Papers Say awards, and has twice received the British Press Award for Specialist Writer of the Year, has published an article on Reuters titled ‘The age of austerity is ending’ stating “Whisper it softly, but the age of government austerity is ending. It may seem an odd week to say this, what with the U.S. government preparing for indiscriminate budget cuts, a new fiscal crisis apparently brewing in Europe after the Italian election and David Cameron promising to “go further and faster in reducing the deficit” after the downgrade of Britain’s credit. But politics is sometimes a looking-glass world, in which things are the opposite of what they seem. …in Italy, Britain and the rest of Europe, this week’s events should help convince politicians and voters that efforts to reduce government borrowing, whether through public spending cuts or through tax hikes, are both politically suicidal and economically counterproductive. In Italy, and therefore the entire euro zone, this shift is now almost certain. After the clear majority voted for politicians explicitly campaigning against austerity and what they presented as German economic bullying, further budget cuts or labor reforms in Italy are now off the agenda, if only because they would be literally impossible to implement. If Angela Merkel demands further budget cuts, tax hikes or labor reforms as a condition for supporting Italy’s membership of the euro, a majority of voters have given an unequivocal clear answer: Basta, enough is enough. Most Italians would rather leave the euro than accept any further austerity – and if Italy left the euro, total breakup of the single currency would follow with an inevitability that might not apply if the country exiting were Greece, Portugal or even Spain. …Things may not look that way just yet, but the age of fiscal austerity should soon be over.”  Inspired by Anatole Kaletsky, Reuters ow.ly/iuA5T Image source Twitter ow.ly/iuz0F The age of austerity is ending (March 26 2013)

 

Anatole Kaletsky the British journalist and economist named Newspaper Commentator of the Year in the BBC’s What the Papers Say awards, and has twice received the British Press Award for Specialist Writer of the Year, has published an article on Reuters titled ‘The age of austerity is ending’ stating “Whisper it softly, but the age of government austerity is ending. It may seem an odd week to say this, what with the U.S. government preparing for indiscriminate budget cuts, a new fiscal crisis apparently brewing in Europe after the Italian election and David Cameron promising to “go further and faster in reducing the deficit” after the downgrade of Britain’s credit. But politics is sometimes a looking-glass world, in which things are the opposite of what they seem. …in Italy, Britain and the rest of Europe, this week’s events should help convince politicians and voters that efforts to reduce government borrowing, whether through public spending cuts or through tax hikes, are both politically suicidal and economically counterproductive. In Italy, and therefore the entire euro zone, this shift is now almost certain. After the clear majority voted for politicians explicitly campaigning against austerity and what they presented as German economic bullying, further budget cuts or labor reforms in Italy are now off the agenda, if only because they would be literally impossible to implement. If Angela Merkel demands further budget cuts, tax hikes or labor reforms as a condition for supporting Italy’s membership of the euro, a majority of voters have given an unequivocal clear answer: Basta, enough is enough. Most Italians would rather leave the euro than accept any further austerity – and if Italy left the euro, total breakup of the single currency would follow with an inevitability that might not apply if the country exiting were Greece, Portugal or even Spain. …Things may not look that way just yet, but the age of fiscal austerity should soon be over.”

 

Inspired by Anatole Kaletsky, Reuters ow.ly/iuA5T Image source Twitter ow.ly/iuz0F

Roberto Guillermo Pizarro Hofer the 68 year old Chilean economist , academic, socialist and former Minister of State has published an article in the America Economia titled ‘The 1% has enough 99%’ referring to the Occupy Wall Street Movement. In a Worldcrunch translation of the article, Pizarro is quoted as stating “...difference in incomes is the consequence of an elevated concentration of property and wealth in a few hands. The most powerful economic groups have multiplied their actions in the last 20 years in a rhythm that simply excludes the rest of Chile. They accumulated with the dictatorship and kept going when it ended and the coalition governments were formed. …In the last decade, the wealth of the five most powerful economic groups has expanded in an unprecedented way, from $5.6 million in 2002 to $48.3 million in 2010. In addition, the Chilean tax regime has been extremely generous to large corporations and wealthy sectors of the population, while, on the other hand, the unprecedented expansion of the credit system through high rises and supermarkets has provided huge profits to these groups. Finally,the expansion of trade and financial openness of the Chilean economy, through the Free Trade Agreement (TLC), the central component of the country's foreign policy, has allowed a global scale reproduction of Chilean investors abroad. Consequently, it is no exaggeration to say that the State has been captured by an economic minority who use it in their favor. Instead of using it as a tool to compensate for the inequalities of the market economy, it has become an instrument for economic expansion of a few. Under such conditions, the nation's sense of community has weakened by the presence of a fragile State, serving a minority considered an ideological nuisance.”  Inspired by Roberto Pizarro, America Economia ow.ly/hMJRH Image source elperiodista ow.ly/hMJOq The State captured by an economic minority (March 3 2013)

 

Roberto Guillermo Pizarro Hofer the 68 year old Chilean economist , academic, socialist and former Minister of State has published an article in the America Economia titled ‘The 1% has enough 99%’ referring to the Occupy Wall Street Movement. In a Worldcrunch translation of the article, Pizarro is quoted as stating “…difference in incomes is the consequence of an elevated concentration of property and wealth in a few hands. The most powerful economic groups have multiplied their actions in the last 20 years in a rhythm that simply excludes the rest of Chile. They accumulated with the dictatorship and kept going when it ended and the coalition governments were formed. …In the last decade, the wealth of the five most powerful economic groups has expanded in an unprecedented way, from $5.6 million in 2002 to $48.3 million in 2010. In addition, the Chilean tax regime has been extremely generous to large corporations and wealthy sectors of the population, while, on the other hand, the unprecedented expansion of the credit system through high rises and supermarkets has provided huge profits to these groups. Finally,the expansion of trade and financial openness of the Chilean economy, through the Free Trade Agreement (TLC), the central component of the country’s foreign policy, has allowed a global scale reproduction of Chilean investors abroad. Consequently, it is no exaggeration to say that the State has been captured by an economic minority who use it in their favor. Instead of using it as a tool to compensate for the inequalities of the market economy, it has become an instrument for economic expansion of a few. Under such conditions, the nation’s sense of community has weakened by the presence of a fragile State, serving a minority considered an ideological nuisance.”

 

Inspired by Roberto Pizarro, America Economia ow.ly/hMJRH Image source elperiodista ow.ly/hMJOq

Martin Khor the 61 year old Malaysian journalist and economist, is the Executive Director of the South Centre (an intergovernmental organisation of developing countries based in Switzerland), has published an article on the IPS News Service titled ‘Debt Crises, a Damocles Sword’. Khor states “The issue of foreign debt has made a major comeback due to the crisis in Europe, in which many countries had to seek big bailouts to keep them from defaulting on their loan payments. Before this, debt crises have been associated with African and Latin American countries. …European countries, notably Germany, insisted that private creditors share the burden of resolving the Greek crisis. They had to take a “haircut” of about half, meaning that they would be repaid only half the amount they were owed. It is increasingly clear that bailouts – where new loans are given to indebted countries to enable them to keep paying their old loans in full – are not enough and may be counterproductive, when the countries are facing a problem of insolvency and not just a temporary lack of liquidity. The restructuring of some of Greece’s debt that was owed to private creditors is an example of what needs to be done. However, the ad hoc restructuring undertaken in the Greek case is not enough. A more systematic framework needs to be made available to countries on the verge of debt default, with principles agreed to internationally. In the absence of this, unilateral debt restructuring will probably be messy, as when a country is forced by desperate circumstances to declare a default and propose its own debt restructuring, which may or may not succeed in getting its creditors to agree to the terms. …Though the debt crisis now has Europe as its epicentre, many developing countries may soon also be facing the same predicament.”  Inspired by Martin Khor, IPS News ow.ly/hLSP6 Image source iisd ow.ly/hLSOn Debt Crises a Damocles Sword (February 24 2013)

 

Martin Khor the 61 year old Malaysian journalist and economist, is the Executive Director of the South Centre (an intergovernmental organisation of developing countries based in Switzerland), has published an article on the IPS News Service titled ‘Debt Crises, a Damocles Sword’. Khor states “The issue of foreign debt has made a major comeback due to the crisis in Europe, in which many countries had to seek big bailouts to keep them from defaulting on their loan payments. Before this, debt crises have been associated with African and Latin American countries. …European countries, notably Germany, insisted that private creditors share the burden of resolving the Greek crisis. They had to take a “haircut” of about half, meaning that they would be repaid only half the amount they were owed. It is increasingly clear that bailouts – where new loans are given to indebted countries to enable them to keep paying their old loans in full – are not enough and may be counterproductive, when the countries are facing a problem of insolvency and not just a temporary lack of liquidity. The restructuring of some of Greece’s debt that was owed to private creditors is an example of what needs to be done. However, the ad hoc restructuring undertaken in the Greek case is not enough. A more systematic framework needs to be made available to countries on the verge of debt default, with principles agreed to internationally. In the absence of this, unilateral debt restructuring will probably be messy, as when a country is forced by desperate circumstances to declare a default and propose its own debt restructuring, which may or may not succeed in getting its creditors to agree to the terms. …Though the debt crisis now has Europe as its epicentre, many developing countries may soon also be facing the same predicament.”

 

Inspired by Martin Khor, IPS News ow.ly/hLSP6 Image source iisd ow.ly/hLSOn

Justin Yifu Lin born as Zhengyi Lin the 60 year old Taiwanese economist and former Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of the World Bank has published an article on Project Syndicate titled ‘Industrialization’s Second Golden Age’. In the article Yifu Lin states “…Historically, except for a few oil-exporting economies, no country has ever become rich without industrializing. Thus, all eyes nowadays should be on our economies’ real sectors. Confronted by the global financial crisis that looms over Europe, political leaders around the world are waking up to a stark new reality: unless the developed countries stop relying excessively on financial deal-making and start to rebuild from the ground up, they will lose their current standard of living. The global community must look beyond the eurozone and sovereign-debt crises and pay attention to the opportunity of structural transformation in the developing world’s real sectors. By structural transformation, I mean the process by which countries climb the industrial ladder – their workforces move into higher value-added manufacturing sectors as their sources of production advance. …For developing countries to benefit fully from industrial upgrading in China and other large emerging-market economies, their governments must identify tradable industries that are consistent with their latent comparative advantage. They also must help private firms to resolve information, coordination, and externality issues in the process of industrial upgrading. …In short, the imminent golden age of industrialization in developing countries will help to create jobs and spur recovery in advanced countries. The benefits of this new era will be two-pronged: it will contribute to the achievement of the UN Millennium Development Goals – the plan to cut world poverty in half by 2015 – and also will help to drive a global recovery. Then, we may see a golden age for all.”  Inspired by Justin Yifu Lin, Project Syndicate ow.ly/gT0bU Image source Bdwgast ow.ly/gSZUZ We may see a golden age for all (January 25 2013)

Justin Yifu Lin born as Zhengyi Lin the 60 year old Taiwanese economist and former Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of the World Bank has published an article on Project Syndicate titled ‘Industrialization’s Second Golden Age’. In the article Yifu Lin states “…Historically, except for a few oil-exporting economies, no country has ever become rich without industrializing. Thus, all eyes nowadays should be on our economies’ real sectors. Confronted by the global financial crisis that looms over Europe, political leaders around the world are waking up to a stark new reality: unless the developed countries stop relying excessively on financial deal-making and start to rebuild from the ground up, they will lose their current standard of living. The global community must look beyond the eurozone and sovereign-debt crises and pay attention to the opportunity of structural transformation in the developing world’s real sectors. By structural transformation, I mean the process by which countries climb the industrial ladder – their workforces move into higher value-added manufacturing sectors as their sources of production advance. …For developing countries to benefit fully from industrial upgrading in China and other large emerging-market economies, their governments must identify tradable industries that are consistent with their latent comparative advantage. They also must help private firms to resolve information, coordination, and externality issues in the process of industrial upgrading. …In short, the imminent golden age of industrialization in developing countries will help to create jobs and spur recovery in advanced countries. The benefits of this new era will be two-pronged: it will contribute to the achievement of the UN Millennium Development Goals – the plan to cut world poverty in half by 2015 – and also will help to drive a global recovery. Then, we may see a golden age for all.”

 

Inspired by Justin Yifu Lin, Project Syndicate ow.ly/gT0bU Image source Bdwgast ow.ly/gSZUZ

Mario Monti the 69 year old Italian economist and current caretaker Prime Minister of Italy will run for the premiership as leader of a centrist alliance in the next Italian general election. In an article by Vito Laterza published on Aljazeera titled ‘Technocracy's new bet: Mario Monti runs for premiership’.Vito states “His entry into the political arena will provoke major re-alignments in strategies, programmes and personnel in the centre-right and centre-left coalitions. His ambitious agenda of reforms will strongly influence the policies of the next government. …The rationale of Monti's proposals is not so different from Cameron's austerity programme in the UK: free up the market, reduce the weight of government and let the economy adjust itself. But the prospects for the global economy, especially the eurozone, look grim. European economies will grow slowly, if at all, for many years to come. Italy has struggled with low growth rates for the last two decades. …There is also a major difference with Britain. Italian workers receive very low salaries compared to most of their European counterparts. Further liberalisation without a comparable rebalancing of social protection would effectively mean a low-cost economy driven by cheap labour, reduced quality and quantity of social services and rising socio-economic inequalities. For both these reasons, the continuation of the technocratic agenda by political means is unlikely to result in anything more than a face-lift. … keeping confidence in the Italian government artificially high and interest rates on Italian bonds low. But for how long? Monti is aware that his decision to enter frontline politics "carries many risks and a high probability of failure". If he does fail, how bad will the next collapse in international credibility hit Italy and its people?”  Inspired by Vito Laterza, Aljazeera ow.ly/gKkTU Image source Twitter ow.ly/gKlaQ Technocracy’s new bet runs for premiership (January 18 2013)

Mario Monti the 69 year old Italian economist and current caretaker Prime Minister of Italy will run for the premiership as leader of a centrist alliance in the next Italian general election. In an article by Vito Laterza published on Aljazeera titled ‘Technocracy’s new bet: Mario Monti runs for premiership’.Vito states “His entry into the political arena will provoke major re-alignments in strategies, programmes and personnel in the centre-right and centre-left coalitions. His ambitious agenda of reforms will strongly influence the policies of the next government. …The rationale of Monti’s proposals is not so different from Cameron’s austerity programme in the UK: free up the market, reduce the weight of government and let the economy adjust itself. But the prospects for the global economy, especially the eurozone, look grim. European economies will grow slowly, if at all, for many years to come. Italy has struggled with low growth rates for the last two decades. …There is also a major difference with Britain. Italian workers receive very low salaries compared to most of their European counterparts. Further liberalisation without a comparable rebalancing of social protection would effectively mean a low-cost economy driven by cheap labour, reduced quality and quantity of social services and rising socio-economic inequalities. For both these reasons, the continuation of the technocratic agenda by political means is unlikely to result in anything more than a face-lift. … keeping confidence in the Italian government artificially high and interest rates on Italian bonds low. But for how long? Monti is aware that his decision to enter frontline politics “carries many risks and a high probability of failure”. If he does fail, how bad will the next collapse in international credibility hit Italy and its people?”

 

Inspired by Vito Laterza, Aljazeera ow.ly/gKkTU Image source Twitter ow.ly/gKlaQ

IMF agrees with europe's anti-austerity protests (December 3 2012) IMF agrees with europe’s anti-austerity protests (December 3 2012)

Andy Robinson the 52 year old British Economics journalist has published an article in The Nation Magazine titled ‘Even the IMF Agrees with Europe’s Anti-Austerity Protests’. Robinson states “At its semiannual meeting in Tokyo … the IMF announced that the austerity packages applied throughout southern Europe since 2009 have been counterproductive, undermining economic growth and increasing rather than bringing down public debt ratios. Greece provides ghastly proof of the failed logic of the euro orthodoxy. After three years of shock therapy, the Greek economy is in depression and will have shrunk by more than 22 percent at the end 2013, the IMF warns. Employment in Greece has fallen to 1980 levels, and Greek debt dynamics have only deteriorated. Public sector debt has soared from 144 percent of GDP in 2010 to 170 percent, and unless the official lenders agree to take a haircut in a controlled restructuring of debt—as private lenders did earlier in the year—Greece may be forced to leave the euro. “The IMF has admitted the blunder, but tell that to the Greeks,” said Zoe Lanara, international relations secretary of the Greek General Confederation of Labor… overzealous fiscal adjustment cripples an economy, driving down tax revenues, forcing up welfare costs and causing more debt problems. While labor unions and sections of the European left have expressed concern at the impact of austerity on growth since the very beginning, “a year or so ago, most finance ministers didn’t even know what fiscal multipliers were,” said Terrence McDonough, a Marxist economist at the National University of Ireland.”

 

Inspired by The Nation ow.ly/fKcxM image source PressEurop ow.ly/fKcqo

Got no personal interest in closing it down (October 13 2012) Got no personal interest in closing it down (October 13 2012)

John Christensen the British economist co-founder of the Tax Justice Network and director of its London-based International Secretariat, plays a leading role in campaigning for tighter regulation and control of tax havens and offshore finance centres. Christensen told Aljazeera: “In many cases it’s the politicians and their cronies and their families and the business people who sponsor the political parties who are using these offshore financial services so they got no personal interest in closing it down. If they wanted to close it down they could do it tomorrow. It’s not a question of rocket science and how difficult to do that, all they have to do is improve information exchange between countries and require disclosure of information about offshore accounts, offshore companies, offshore trusts. The fact of the matter is they don’t want to do it because they themselves are complicit with the process.” An Aljazeera article states “A new report has now revealed that some of the world’s richest people have more than $30 trillion stashed in offshore tax havens. A global elite group of super-rich has exploited gaps in cross-border tax rules to hide an extraordinary amount of wealth offshore. Research commissioned by the campaign group Tax Justice Network says the value is as much as the gross domestic products of the US and Japan combined. …the world’s super-rich have taken advantage of lax tax rules to siphon off possibly as much as $32 trillion from their home countries and hide it abroad. In fact, G20 member countries, both developed and emerging economies, have been pledging to close down tax havens since 2008.”

 

Inspired by Aljazeera ow.ly/edi7W image source Save India ow.ly/edh2M

Learning wrong lessons from Latvia (July 22nd 2012) Learning wrong lessons from Latvia (July 22nd 2012)

Mark Weisbrot the American economist, columnist and co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) has published an article on Aljazeera titled ‘Learning the wrong lessons from Latvia’ referring to Europe’s use of the Baltic state’s austerity programmes as an example. In the article Weisbrot states “Latvia, a Baltic country of 2.2 million that most people could not find on a map, has suddenly garnered attention from economists involved in the debate over the future of Europe and the global economy. …This is terrible, because if there’s one simple lesson that most of the world – if not the European authorities – seems to be learning from the prolonged crisis in Europe, it is that fiscal tightening is not the proper response to a recession. …Latvia lost about a quarter of its national income. Unemployment rose from 5.3 per cent to more than 20 per cent of the labour force and, …under-employment peaked at more than 30 per cent. Official unemployment remains at more than 15 per cent today, even after the economy finally grew by 5.5 per cent last year, and about 10 per cent of the labour force has left the country. …the bottom line is that no country with three times the unemployment rate that it had before the world recession, and Latvia’s huge income losses, should be considered even a qualified success story. It would be a shame if these unwarranted conclusions from Latvia’s experience were to help prolong the unnecessary suffering in the eurozone.”

 

Inspired by Aljazeera http://ow.ly/cf9jQ image source Twitter ow.ly/cf9h3

The Wrong Austerity Cure (July 21st 2012) The Wrong Austerity Cure (July 21st 2012)

Laura D’Andrea Tyson the 65 year old American Economist Professor and former Chair of the US President’s Council of Economic Advisers during the Clinton Administration, has published an article on the Project Syndicate titled ‘The Wrong Austerity Cure’. In the article Tyson states “Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti and French President François Hollande are right: Europe needs bold, coordinated policies to promote growth, along with market-based structural reforms to foster competition and an easing of fiscal targets until output and employment recover. But how can significant new growth initiatives be financed? The reality is that the rest of Europe cannot succeed in restoring growth without Germany, and Germany remains wedded to the austerity cure. With a modest fiscal deficit, record-low borrowing costs, and a huge current-account surplus, Germany has the financial firepower to unleash a significant stimulus. But Germany sees no need to stimulate its own economy, and is willing to consider only modest eurozone measures… Despite pleas from the IMF and the OECD, Germany also remains implacably opposed to Eurobonds, which could ease the funding constraints of other eurozone members… the worsening banking crisis, with deposits fleeing from the eurozone periphery, is further strangling Europe’s growth prospects. It is probably too late to save Greece. But a shift towards policies to promote growth, supported by the easing of deficit targets and the issuance of Eurobonds, is essential to bring Europe back from the brink of sustained recession, to stabilise Europe’s financial markets, and to prevent another significant disruption to global capital markets.”

 

Inspired by Project Syndicate ow.ly/cf8Rx image source World Economic Forum ow.ly/cf8R3

A plausible progressive counter-narrative (July 7th 2012) A plausible progressive counter-narrative (July 7th 2012)

Yoshihiro Francis Fukuyama the 60 year old American political scientist and economist is the subject of an article published by Dan Hind on Aljazeera titled ‘Just how do you change the world? Is there a progressive counter-narrative to the libertarian right?’ Hind states “Francis Fukuyama wrote an article for Foreign Affairs entitled The Future of History. In it he talked about the absence of “a plausible progressive counter-narrative” to the “libertarian right”. This libertarian right has “held the ideological high ground on economic issues” for a generation. …Fukuyama claims that “one of the most puzzling features of the world in the aftermath of the financial crisis is that populism has taken primarily a right-wing form, not a left-wing one”. So while he thinks it conceivable that the “Occupy Wall Street movement will gain traction”, he can’t find space for the hundreds of other occupations in the United States and worldwide. The role of trade unionists and socialists in Arab Spring is nowhere to be found and the vast movement for real democracy in Spain likewise vanishes. The Tea Party is what captures Fukuyama’s attention. …It would be unfair to mock him for his failure to predict the rise of Syriza in Greece, the defeat of a right-wing president in France and the growing confidence of anti-capitalist left in Europe and North America. It is, though, reasonable to expect a prophet to have some kind of grip on the recent past.”

 

Inspired by Dan Hind ow.ly/bWbVf image source Robert Goddyn ow.ly/bWbQb

What can we do? What is the next step? (June 30th 2012) What can we do? What is the next step? (June 30th 2012)

Mario Draghi the 64 year old Italian banker, economist and President of the European Central Bank has told European politicians that they should do a lot more to tackle the debt crisis, according to an Aljazeera article. The article states “He says the current setup is unsustainable and has urged member states to take immediate action towards developing a clear vision for the next few years. …warn[ing] that the structure of the euro currency union has become unsustainable and criticised political leaders, who, he said, had been slow to respond to a European debt crisis now well into its third year. “Can the ECB fill the vacuum or lack of action by national governments on the structural front? And again the answer is no, structural reforms don’t have much to do with monetary policy,” Draghi said, adding: “Can the ECB fill the vacuum left by the lack of euro area governance? And the answer is no. So, let’s ask: What can we do now? What is the next step? The next step is basically for our leaders to clarify what is the vision for a certain number of years from now.” …All of this has taken a toll on the value of the euro currency. It fell to its lowest level in almost two years against the dollar.”

 

Inspired by Aljazeera ow.ly/bJhPY image source World Economic Forum ow.ly/bJhwz

Joseph Eugene Stiglitz the 69 year old American economist and professor has published an article on The Daily Beast titled “The 99 Percent Wakes Up” pointing out  that “Inequality isn’t only plaguing America—the Arab Spring flowered because international capitalism is broken.” In the article Stiglitz states “…I met with protesters in Madrid’s Retiro Park, at Zuccotti Park in New York, and in [Tahrir Square] Cairo… The protesters have been criticized for not having an agenda, but such criticism misses the point of protest movements. They are an expression of frustration with the electoral process. They are an alarm. …they are asking for a great deal: for a democracy where people, not dollars, matter; and for a market economy that delivers on what it is supposed to do. The two demands are related: unfettered markets do not work well, as we have seen. For markets to work the way markets are supposed to work, there has to be appropriate government regulation. But for that to occur, we have to have a democracy that reflects the general interests, not the special interests. We may have the best government that money can buy, but that won’t be good enough.

 

Inspired by The Daily Beast http://ow.ly/aS6rW image source http://ow.ly/aS6zP

Peter Whish-Wilson the 44 year old Australian economist University lecturer and winemaker has been selected by the Australian Greens to replace the retiring Bob Brown in the Australian Senate. Whish-Wilson a board member of the conservation group Surfrider Foundation Australia, has been a vocal opponent of the proposed Gunns pulp mill in the Tasmanian state’s north. On his announcement as Brown’s successor in the parliament, Whish-Wilson stated “I’m also very conscious of the responsibility that will go with this position, both to Greens voters and all Tasmanians, in fact all Australians, I would just like to say that I think it is a very significant move for the Greens to put a senator in the north of Tasmania, to put an office there. It’s also a very strong message that the Greens will continue to oppose the pulp mill in the Tamar Valley. I will certainly try and get messages out there that are going to be very positive.” When questioned that he was a “light green” in reference to his previous work in the finance sector with Deutsche Bank Securities and Merrill Lynch, he stated “Light green, dark green, all good, all green – it’s just a label. Labels are cheap”

 

Inspired by Matthew Knott http://ow.ly/aNghB image source ABC http://ow.ly/aNgsp

Jeffrey David Sachs the 57 year old US economist renowned as an adviser to post communist eastern Europe and other developing countries in the implementation of his economic shock therapy, has been interviewed by Sami Zeidan, where he stated “The banks have said, leave us deregulated, we know how to run things… Then they took huge gambles … broke the world system … then they rushed out to say ‘bail us out… we’re too big to fail … As soon as that happened, they said ‘oh, don’t regulate us, we know what to do’. And they went back to … paying billions of dollars of bonuses again… the problem that the OWS protesters have is: you broke the system, you gamed the economy, you’re in the White House going to the state dinners, you’re paying yourself huge bonuses, what kind of system is this?”

 

Inspired by Sami Zeidan http://ow.ly/82KHV image source Palácio do Planalto http://ow.ly/82KQx

 

Dani Rodrik the 54 year old Turkish economist and US Harvard University professor has lamented Europe’s potential next nightmare, a step toward the extreme right in the event of a chaotic eurozone breakup. Rodrik states in an article published on Aljazeera, “Today, the question is no longer whether politics will become more populist and less internationalist; it is whether the consequences of that shift can be managed without turning ugly … The nightmare scenario would also be a 1930s-style victory for political extremism. Fascism, Nazism, and communism were children of a backlash against globalization … feeding on the anxieties of groups that felt disenfranchised and threatened by expanding market forces and cosmopolitan elites … The challenge is to develop a new political narrative emphasizing national interests and values without overtones of nativism and xenophobia. If centrist elites do not prove themselves up to the task, those of the far right will gladly fill the vacuum, minus the moderation.

Inspired by Dani Rodrik http://ow.ly/7G8us image source twitter http://ow.ly/7G8yf

Leopoldo López Mendoza the 40 year old Venezuelan Economist and Politician has attained a ruling from the Costa Rica-based Inter-American Human Rights Court, that the Chávez government violated his political rights by denying him from holding office. López was one of 400 Venezuelans barred by Chávez from running in the 2008 elections due to alleged corruption investigations. López claims he was banned because Chávez knows he can win. López is seeking to run against Chávez in Venezuela’s 2012 presidential election. The court ordered the Venezuela electoral council not to prevent López from running in a future election, however the Chávez government plans to contest the order before the Venezuela Supreme Court. According to the Wall Street Journal, six of the seven Supreme Court justices “are sympathetic to the president”.

 

Inspired by Martin Delfin http://ow.ly/6FWyG image source http://ow.ly/6FWxc

Leadership should better reflect its membership (June 3rd) Leadership should better reflect its membership (June 3rd)

Christine Madeleine Odette Lagarde the 55 year old French Minister of Economic Affairs has been nominated with the support of UK and German governments as a possible successor to Dominique Strauss-Kahn following his resignation as Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Lagarde potentially also has support from the USA, along with many other EU nations. Despite 187 countries having representation on the IMF, there is a quota based voting system favoring the USA and EU, providing an unwritten convention that the USA nominates the president to the World Bank, and the EU nominates the managing director for the IMF. Although not an economist, Lagarde stated on her nomination “If I’m elected, I’ll bring all my expertise as a lawyer, a minister, a manager, and a woman”.

Inspired by Annie Lowrey http://ow.ly/55OFE image source MEDEF http://ow.ly/55OAE

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, known as DSK, the 62 year old French economist, politician and Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), following his arrest in New York on allegations of sexual assault, has now been indicted by a grand jury to face charges relating to the allegations. Strauss-Kahn was believed to be on the verge of announcing his intention to stand for election to the French Presidency as the Socialist Party candidate, against the incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy.  The majority of French believe the allegations are a smear campaign to stifle his candidacy, however a 32 year old maid at his hotel suite claims Strauss-Kahn emerged naked from the bathroom to chase her about the spacious suite and began sexually assaulting her, including forcing her to perform oral sex. Inspired by NYDaily News ow.ly/4UQ07 image source Wikipedia ow.ly/4UQ4S Nicknamed “the great seducer” stands accused (May 19 2011)

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, known as DSK, the 62 year old French economist, politician and Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), following his arrest in New York on allegations of sexual assault, has now been indicted by a grand jury to face charges relating to the allegations. Strauss-Kahn was believed to be on the verge of announcing his intention to stand for election to the French Presidency as the Socialist Party candidate, against the incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy.  The majority of French believe the allegations are a smear campaign to stifle his candidacy, however a 32 year old maid at his hotel suite claims Strauss-Kahn emerged naked from the bathroom to chase her about the spacious suite and began sexually assaulting her, including forcing her to perform oral sex.

 

Inspired by NYDaily News ow.ly/4UQ07 image source Wikipedia ow.ly/4UQ4S

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