It now seems clear the Greek referendum has returned a resounding No. This places the Germans and the other creditor countries in the Eurozone in a stark position. They can insist on the narrative that the Greeks have said no to Europe and the Euro, but this will be denied vociferously and plausibly by the … More The No and the Germans
In an earlier comment I referred to the Greek default to the IMF as suggesting that the actions being taken in the crisis were far off the ‘equilibrium path’ in the sense that it was not obvious that they were part of a set of ‘best responses’ in game theoretic terms, given their presumed objectives. … More Tsipras’s non-traditional playbook: the default and the referendum
Today’s news that the IMF is not prepared to put a fresh bailout package to the IMF board without debt relief amounts to a reclamation of independence and a restoration of a degree of good sense from the technocrats. The IMF, and Christine Lagarde, have understood that the legitimacy of the organization and its leadership … More Greece and the IMF: The Realism of the Technocrats
It is well known that developing countries have been claiming a larger role in the World Bank and the IMF and that this has been resisted by the developed countries. The US has objected to dilution of its shareholding even though it could mean smaller financial obligations on its part and in the latest round … More Greece, the IMF and the Developing World
When in Madrid last week I happened to meet an official of the Spanish development agency, who drew my attention to the fact that Spain, always a country with a very low ‘aid’ budget (which had however been rising sharply before the crisis began in 2008) has had a sharp fall in its aid budget, … More Aid: Tales We Tell Ourselves, or Growing up is Hard to Do
Late last week I attended a very interesting meeting in Madrid on the subject of what some have described as a coming ’second machine age’ and its possible future economic and social impact. The technological developments described at the meeting by scientists, engineers, business people and others who follow them closely center on possible breakthroughs … More A Second Machine Age?
Dear friends and colleagues, I am launching today a new blog, as an adjunct to my academic writing. I hope to discuss in it economics and other subjects (such as politics, the other ‘social sciences’ and philosophy) drawing on my experiences and on ideas that I come across. I will where moved comment on current … More Launching a blog
