It was 1971 when Richard Nixon, a conservative, uttered the famous phrase "We are all Keynesians now”. But there was a backlash soon to follow, with Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher changing the world as perhaps no two other people did in the 20th century. Ronald Reagan's "supply-side economics" was never taken seriously in the economics profession – even at the height of his influence there was barely a handful of economists that would lend their names to it. But the economics profession did, in its research at least, throw out many of the insights that had made John Maynard Keynes the most influential economist of the century. By Mark Weisbrot
Among these insights was Keynes' explanation that self-regulating markets would not necessarily fix an economy that had fallen into recession, so as to restore growth and full employment. And that government intervention could help do the job that markets could not ... ... this article is published in Issue 1/Jan-Feb 2008 for subscribers only. For direct log in >>> click here.If you have no subscription >>> pick your option or >>> buy the article.
The Superiority of the Financial Transaction Tax + Global Unemployment on Record Levels + New Beginning in European Development Policy? + Clean Development for the South
Global Economic Prospects for 2010 + Does Copenhagen Really Matter? + Quo Vadis, German Development Cooperation? + Mapping Social Protection in South Asia
The ITUC's Annual Survey of Trade Union Rights has documented a dramatic increase in the number of trade unionists murdered in 2009, with 101 killings - an increase of 30% over the previous year. The new Survey also reveals growing pressure on fundamental workers' rights around the world as the impact of the global economic crisis on employment deepened.
Barely in office, German development minister Dirk Niebel unambiguously mapped out the road: he wants to ensure that development cooperation once again focuses on German interests. This position provoked-probably intentionally-protest from the greater part of the German development community.
Latvia and Estonia show us what Greece may look forward to if it follows the advice it gets from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Union. As noted previously, Latvia has experienced the worst two-year economic downturn on record, losing more than 25% of GDP, a recent study shows.
A group of economists has written an open letter to European policymakers criticising their collective failure to address the Greek crisis as a European crisis. It sets out the various causes of the Greek crisis, of which poor fiscal management by that country is only one, and points out the European dimension of the problems. It calls for decisive and coordinated policies by European and national actors to stem the crisis.
The evaluation of the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) of the World Bank's support for gender issues between 2002 and 2008 is of significant relevance in the light of the Beijing+15 review and the launching of gender mainstreaming as crucial strategy for all institutions and organizations.