Many highly distinguished economists such as my friend Geoff Harcourt come from what is commonly known as the Post-Keynesian school. This means they believe the theory of economics and fiscal policy applied…
Double speak? It isn’t easy being a reserve banker.
Dan Peled/AAP
Last Tuesday the minutes of August’s Reserve Bank of Australia board meeting were released. Market participants speculated about what they would say, currency and bond markets responded to what they did…
Widespread violent protests in Greece in response to austerity measures showed the world what a real sovereign risk looks like.
Joanna/Flickr
The use of the term “sovereign risk” by Trade Minister Andrew Robb to describe the federal budget stalling in the senate shows just how fast and loosely the term has come to be used. But to whom is the…
Thanks to language, many people despise economists.
Lafayette College/Flickr
Every scientific discipline has its own language, largely to save time when conversing with others from the same discipline. For instance, in trigonometry it’s much easier to talk about the “hypotenuse…
Has our use of economics language been a real driver of economic growth?
Cau Napoli Collettivo Autorganizzato Universitario di Napoli/Flickr
Do the words we use to speak of economic matters, matter? I believe they do, but not by the propagation of textbookish jargon. Rather, the main way they matter is in shaping public ethics. Economics has…
Does your treasurer suffer from deficit size fetishism?
Alan Porritt/AAP
Though money and financial factors are integrated in complex ways in the workings of the economy, ultimately it is real resources – work forces (sizes and skills), capital goods and natural resources…