currencies

The antifragile economic model: formalizing the use of complementary currencies as a method to offset systemic risk

May 25, 2016

This paper explores the social implications of the postindustrial era and its effects in neoliberal economic models currently used in Western democracies. The changing nature of work (Landry, 2005), increases in global aging population, rapid environmental degradation and “the upcoming rise in consumer demand fueled by 1.7BN Chinese citizens that will be joining the middle class in the next decade” (Dobbs, 2015), underscore the urgent need to revise certain economic modeling assumptions in order to maintain the stability of democracies. The mathematical limitations imposed by technological innovation in the creation of wage based employment combined with a flawed framework of unlimited economic growth, point to an increased frequency in systemic risk and armed conflict as the future norm of the current socioeconomic system. Adapting institutional practices and economic frameworks to benefit from rapid change can help avoid further deterioration of established and emerging democracies and increase wealth creation in the short and long term. This paper will explore some of the existing challenges to creating a more efficient economic model adapted to support the digital economy, the construction of such a model, and outline the main institutional and monetary reforms that need to take place in order to enable this framework. … More The antifragile economic model: formalizing the use of complementary currencies as a method to offset systemic risk

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The Fed Sends A Frightening Letter To JPMorgan, Corporate Media Yawns

April 15, 2016

ow could one bank, even one as big and global as JPMorgan Chase, bring down the whole financial stability of the United States? Because, as the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Financial Research (OFR) has explained in detail and plotted in pictures (see below), five big banks in the U.S. have high contagion risk to each other. Which bank poses the highest contagion risk? JPMorgan Chase. … More The Fed Sends A Frightening Letter To JPMorgan, Corporate Media Yawns

China’s crisis, Europe’s debt, and the US oil bust have become one big worldwide mess

February 15, 2016

The Chinese economic slump, the global energy bust, the European debt crisis, and the increasingly uncertain American economy have finally fused into one very large, unpleasant economic story. … More China’s crisis, Europe’s debt, and the US oil bust have become one big worldwide mess

Gender inequality

Closing the gender pay gap: the importance of not confusing ‘support’ with ‘permission’

October 30, 2015

The struggle for gender equality is over 100 years old. While many victories have been won in the public policy realm, the biggest battle to the success of this initiative remains in the domestic setting. This is due primarily because many men are supportive of gender equality in theory but very few understand what it means. … More Closing the gender pay gap: the importance of not confusing ‘support’ with ‘permission’

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Liquid Modernity – Cyborg Anthropology

October 14, 2015

Liquid Modernity Liquid-modernity-maggie-nichols.jpg Definition Liquid Modernity is sociologist Zygmunt Bauman’s term for the present condition of the world as contrasted with the “solid” modernity that preceded it. According to Bauman, the passage from “solid” to “liquid” modernity created a new and unprecedented setting for individual life pursuits, confronting individuals with a series of challenges never … More Liquid Modernity – Cyborg Anthropology

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The Rise of the Liquid Society

July 26, 2015

The collapse of the old system has already happened and efforts to perpetuate it are only aggravating the problem. People have experienced the reality of this shift in their everyday lives, in their vulnerability to systemic risk and sudden job losses. However governments have remained in denial, trying to apply the ‘one solution’ fits all problems model (i.e. trying to correct a private debt problem by creating more debt). Meanwhile… … More The Rise of the Liquid Society

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Why the rich should be worried about inequality

July 14, 2015

Due to the steady fall of worker share on GDP, inequality is “quickly becoming a problem between the financial industry and the rest of the world, and the bad news is that finance is wining” (S. Keen). The graph above shows what happens to a relative stable capitalist system when the workers share of GDP begins to fall below certain levels … More Why the rich should be worried about inequality

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Modern economics not keeping up with modern times

May 29, 2015

This paper challenges the notion of “modern economics” demonstrating that existing models are not sufficient to handle the next wave of global economic disruption that will be experienced during the next 40 years. Four examples are presented to illustrate the paradigm shifts in the making. Upcoming monumental challenges require reevaluating societal needs of the 21st century and approaching modeling from a fresh perspective. Technology has moved on, so should fundamental macroeconomic assumptions. … More Modern economics not keeping up with modern times

Poverty

Can we end poverty?

January 29, 2015

With so much time and effort being invested in this goal by NGO’s and governments alike, this is a question worth asking. Can we effectively end poverty at some point? And if so, what will it take? The answer depends on the measuring stick being used to define poverty. In order to mitigate any kind of problem, one must first define the parameters of the problem itself. … More Can we end poverty?

Effective policy or the nanny state? Plastic bag use plummets in the UK

August 12, 2016

Originally posted on The Political Economy of Development:
Plastic waste often ends up in the ocean Some good news for the environment: following the introduction of a 5p plastic bag charge in England in October 2015, consumption has dropped dramatically, by 83% by the end of 2016 if current trends continue. This is surely an example…

Homoeconomicus

On Abstraction and homoeconomicus

July 30, 2016

  It can be easily argued that abstraction is an elementary methodological tool in several social sciences. Social sciences have definite and different man concepts that highlight those aspects of man and his behaviour by idealization that are relevant for the given human science. Homo sociologicus is the man as sociology abstracts and idealizes it–depicting … More On Abstraction and homoeconomicus

(top) Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at Hillary Town Hall in Brooklyn, NY, May 4, 2016; (bottom) Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump delivers a speech at a campaign town hall event in Wausau, Wisconsin April 2, 2016.

Here is how we talk about manhood- and womanhood- during a presidential race

July 30, 2016

“…with or without a female candidate, the race for the presidency has always been gendered, as my research shows — often in ways that are explicitly unfriendly to women. And the language we use to talk about who is fit for the presidency is language that hurts women.” “When gender is relied upon to contrast […] … More Here is how we talk about manhood- and womanhood- during a presidential race

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The US democratic circus

July 24, 2016

Originally posted on OffGuardian:
by Jesse Marioneaux Annual party convention season in the United States combines comedy, farce, and melodrama in one rip-roaring package of unadulterated entertainment that is to democracy what the Emperor Nero was to fire prevention. The American people, and the world, are currently being treated to an annual parade of charisma-challenged,…

Looking at Conflict with Game Theory — Antonios Antoniou’s WordPress Blog

July 1, 2016

Dr. Antonios (Tony) Antoniou is an expert in business and finance and achieved recognition in Jean I. Heck and Philip L. Cooley’s study, “Most Prolific Authors in the Finance Literature: 1959 – 2008.” Amid Dr. Antonios Antoniou’s research interests is the question of how economics can be used in conflict resolution. In 2005, Robert J. […] … More Looking at Conflict with Game Theory — Antonios Antoniou’s WordPress Blog

The tragedy of poverty in the US — The Political Economy of Development

June 26, 2016

The largest economy in the world. A technological leader in many industries. Land of the free. Despite all this, poverty in the US remains widespread, affecting about one in seven people, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and as reported by the BBC here. Growth by itself is not enough. If it is not … More The tragedy of poverty in the US — The Political Economy of Development

Applying behavioural economics to public policy (Is Indian polity listening?)

June 6, 2016

Originally posted on Mostly Economics:
The post is on Canadian public policy but I guess it applies to most countries. There is an interesting video on nudging people to use stairs instead of elevators. Though the nudge is slightly noisy. Do see it. There are numerous ways in which nudges can work: How to encourage…

White World Order, Black Power Politics: A Symposium

June 6, 2016

This is the first post in the symposium on Robert Vitalis’s, White World Order, Black Power Politics: The Birth of American International Relations (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2015). Professor Vitalis (who also answers to ‘Bob’) teaches at the University of Pennsylvania. His first book, When Capitalists Collide: Business Conflict and the End of Empire in … More White World Order, Black Power Politics: A Symposium

US Economic Slowdown?Look at real estate labor market

May 23, 2016

One month of weak payroll data does not make a crisis. The US economy appears to have added only 160,000 new jobs during the month of April in 2016, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday. A similar number was published earlier in that week by the payroll firm ADP. Although the slowdown in […] … More US Economic Slowdown?Look at real estate labor market

Urban Traffic: More Roads Don’t Mean Less Traffic — MS&E 135 Networks @ Stanford

May 23, 2016

It is estimated that by 2030 the cumulative cost of traffic congestion in the United States will reach 2.8 Trillion Dollars. The usual way we have responded to this situation is build more highways and roads. However, as Adam Mann, an Angeleno points out in his article, building more lanes on the 405 has not … More Urban Traffic: More Roads Don’t Mean Less Traffic — MS&E 135 Networks @ Stanford

The Birth of Territory reviewed in Law, Culture and the Humanities by Thanos Zartaloudis — Progressive Geographies

May 20, 2016

The Birth of Territory is reviewed in Law, Culture and the Humanities by Thanos Zartaloudis (requires subscription). It’s a generous summary of the book and says a few things about the legal aspects of the argument. To the legal audience the numerous references and remarks on the role of law in the eventual conception of […] … More The Birth of Territory reviewed in Law, Culture and the Humanities by Thanos Zartaloudis — Progressive Geographies

Economists Confuse Greek Method with Science — WEA Pedagogy Blog

May 20, 2016

Post 3/4 – Continuation of Emergence of Science A well-known historian and philosopher of science Pierre Duhem reflects the typical Eurocentric attitude: “There is no Arabian science. The wise men of Mohammedanism were … faithful disciples of the Greeks, (and) … destitute of all originality.” It is amazing how prejudice can blind historians to the […] … More Economists Confuse Greek Method with Science — WEA Pedagogy Blog

Soon economists may call the government to fix the economy, leaving the public confused..

April 3, 2016

Originally posted on Mostly Economics:
Noah Smith has this interesting piece on changing discourse on economic thought. And that too amidst economists!! Even more interesting is that they seem to be leaning more towards govt these days: Economists argue so much about everything that people are always asking them “Is there anything you folks agree on?”…