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We are living through a cost of living crisis, with interest rate
hikes and the prices of everyday consumables and energy bills
sky-rocketing. Why is this happening? Sometimes we are told that
wages are too high, or that the government has "printed" too much
money or that events far away, such as the war in Ukraine, are
solely to blame. The plain argument that high prices go together
with high profits, falling wages, and weak production is often
distorted and hidden by mainstream commentary in the media and
elsewhere. This plain-speaking pamphlet tells it straight: the big
businesses dominating production and distribution make huge profits
out of high inflation, while working people lose out. It sets out
factual evidence to illustrate that the source of record profits is
the fall in real wages as inflation rises. A large part of the
income of working people is being transferred directly into the
profits of big business. The pamphlet shows that the deeper roots
of the "cost of living crisis" lie in the very low investment and
poor productivity growth for many years. The basic steps to
resolving the crisis are simple: prices, especially of essentials,
must be brought down, and wages, salaries, benefits, and pensions
must be increased.
Extraordinary growth of the financial relative to the nonfinancial
sector has marked the development of mature capitalism during the
last four decades. The changing balance between the two sectors has
altered the outlook of the economy and facilitated the spread of
financial concerns, practices, and outlooks across society. The
result has been the gradual transformation of contemporary
capitalism - namely, its financialization since the late 1970s.
There are similarities between the Marxian, the Post-Keynesian and
other heterodox approaches to analyzing the profound changes in
money and finance in the global economy since the 1980s. Prominent
among them is a common focus on financialization but also on the
limits of monetary policy, the transformation of banking, the
tendency to crisis related to financial excess, and the problematic
role of neoliberalism in finance. Furthermore, the complexity of
the interrelationship between finance and the rest of the economy
has increased since the great crisis of 2007-9. This book tackles
several of these developments as well as engaging in debate among
different currents of heterodox economics. The chapters in this
book were originally published in The Japanese Political Economy.
This book considers the theoretical and empirical claims of Modern
Monetary Theory (MMT) in developed and developing countries. It is
structured as a debate between leading MMT theorists and MMT
critics. MMT threw down a challenge to mainstream economics and
forced it to respond, above all in the USA. This is a rare
occurrence, almost unknown, for heterodox economics during the last
few decades. It is not surprising, therefore, that MMT has
attracted strong attention from a broad swathe of researchers. It
is even less surprising that it has become the theoretical vehicle
of choice for political activists opposing austerity. Its influence
is remarkable and has gradually spread to other social disciplines,
including even cultural theory. Furthermore, the policy responses
to coronavirus by several governments, particularly the
extraordinary expansion of central bank balance sheets in 2020,
appears to support MMT in practice. This volume takes into account
the rising popularity of MMT and considers its theoretical claims
in depth, since popularity does not necessarily equate to being
right in theory. It also considers MMT claims regarding fiscal and
monetary policy in view of the implications of the pandemic crisis
for public spending and public debt. It is not accidental that the
strongest support for MMT, in both theory and policy, is to be
found in the USA, since MMT conclusions rely heavily on close
institutional analysis of US government financing mechanisms. The
chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue
of The Japanese Political Economy.
This excellent book, newly available in paperback, addresses the
growing dissatisfaction with the neo-liberal post-Washington
consensus. The concern of the contributors in writing this
collection was that this consensus has established itself as a new
orthodoxy, more powerful and widespread than its predecessor. This
broad-ranging critique explains that without a much broader
political economy the consensus is unlikely to provide a coherent
framework for successful development policies. Development Policy
in the 21st Century is unique in its depth and assesses the
postures of the new consensus topic by topic, whilst posing strong
alternatives. It will improve and stimulate the reader's
understanding of this important area, and is required reading for
any student, academic or interested reader that wishes to
understand one of the most important issues in international
economics.
Where does the power of money come from? Why is trust so important
in financial operations? How does the swapping of gifts differ from
the exchange of commodities? Where does self-interest stop and
communal solidarity start in capitalist economies?
These issues and many more are discussed in a rigorous, yet
readable, manner in Social Foundations of Markets, Money and
Credit. It is shown in particular that capitalist economies are
permeated with non-economic characteristics.
This carefully argued book will prove interesting and valuable to
students and researchers not only in economics, but also in
sociology and anthropology. Well-informed critics of capitalism
will also find it a useful read.
Because their economies were regulated, their financial systems
'repressed' and their states interventionist, for many years the
countries of East Asia challenged the Washington consensus,
offering an alternative development paradigm. However, in the
1990's, Asian capitalism was disrupted following Japan's stagnation
and the financial crisis of 1997-98. Treading the unexplored
theoretical terrain created by the simultaneous decline of the
Washington Consensus and Asian developmentalism, this revealing
book analyzes the comparative political economy of East Asia and
Latin America. Divided into four key sections, it covers:
Theoretical Framework Results of Globalization Converging and
Diverging of Paths of Economic Development Finance and Regionalism.
Through the juxtaposition of countries in East Asia and Latin
America, leading academics analyze the impact of government
intervention, institutional malfunction, social transformation and
financial change as well as conflict and power on economic
development. This book will prove to be invaluable to students and
academics of development economics.
For many years the countries of East Asia challenged the Washington
consensus and offered an alternative development paradigm; their
economies were regulated, their financial systems 'repressed' and
their states interventionist. However, Asian capitalism was
disrupted in the 1990's following Japan's stagnation and the
financial crisis of 1997-98. Treading the unexplored theoretical
terrain created by the simultaneous decline of the Washington
Consensus and Asian developmentalism, this book analyzes the
comparative political economy of East Asia and Latin America.
leading academics analyze the impact of government intervention,
institutional malfunction, social transformation and financial
change as well as that of conflict and power on economic
development. Written in four distinct parts, it covers *
theoretical framework * results of globalization * converging and
diverging of paths of economic development * finance and
regionalism. Institutionalist and Marxian; from prestigious
contributors including Ben Fine and KS Jomo, this book will be of
significant interest to students and academics of development
economics.
Contents: Part 1. Commodities, Markets and Capital 1. Social Relations Underpinning Commodity Markets 2. Commodities and Gifts Part 2. Money and Credit 3. Money's Monopoly over the Ability to Buy 4. The Social Content of Credit Relations Part 3. Theoretical Approaches to the Social Relations Sustaining Markets and Money 5. Social Norms and Institutions in the Capitalist Economy 6. The Emergence and Functioning of Money 7. Money as Unit of Account and Means of Exchange in a Socialist Economy
Contents: 1. Neither the Washington nor the Post-Washington Consensus: an introduction Ben Fine 2. Financial systems design and the Post-Washington Consensus Costas Lapavitsas and Sedat Aybar 3. Privatization and the Post-Washington Consensus: between the lab and the real world? Kate Bayliss and Christopher Cramer 4. From Washington to post Washington: does it matter for industrial policy? Sonali Deraniyagala 5. Consensus in Washington, upheaval in East Asia Dic Lo 6. The new political economy of corruption Mushtaq H. Khan 7. The social capital of the World Bank Ben Fine 8. Education and the Post-Washington Consensus Ben Fine and Pauline Rose 9. The Post-Washington consensus and lending operations in agriculture: new rhetoric and old operational realities Jonathan Pincus
The Post-Washington Consensus has succeeded in becoming the new theoretical underpinning for the World Bank's Structural Adjustment policies in developing countries. This broad-ranging critique explains that without a much broader political economy the Post-Washington Consensus is unlikely to provide a coherent framework for successful development policies. Development Policy in the 21st Century is unique in its depth and assesses the postures of the new consensus topic by topic, whilst posing strong alternatives. It will improve and stimulate the reader's understanding of this important area, and is highly recommended to advanced students and professionals
The health emergency that broke out in 2020 is a landmark event in
the development of capitalism, confirming the underlying change
signalled by the Great Crisis of 2007-9. The Pandemic Crisis has
catapulted the state to the centre of economic activity. However, a
historic impasse is steadily becoming apparent at the core of the
world economy Productive accumulation is flaccid, as both
profitability and labour productivity are weak. Financialisation
has entered a new phase, as "shadow banking" grew relative to other
banks but is entirely dependent on the state. The power of the
state derives from command over fiat money and can certainly
deliver enormous boosts to aggregate demand, but that is not enough
to tackle the weakness of the productive sector. The rise in
inflation for the first time in forty years indicates the impasse.
There is a transparent need for intervention on the supply side,
directly challenging capitalist property rights. There is no
evidence, however, that the ruling blocs in core countries would
engage in such policies. The Pandemic Crisis also brought to the
fore fresh divisions of core and periphery across the world
economy. Imperialism has assumed new forms, spurred by globally
active financial capital and internationalised productive capital.
A renewed contest for hegemony has emerged as US power declined.
The economic challenge of China will unfold steadily in the years
ahead, intensifying political tensions and military rivalries. This
book is the work of a research collective comprising authors from
several parts of the world. It analyses these vital issues from the
perspective of Marxist political economy and puts forth alternative
anticapitalist proposals.
The on-going economic crisis commenced in the sphere of finance,
spread into production lines and quickly became a global recession.
In Financialisation in Crisis, several well-known political
economists draw on the insights of Marxist and other heterodox
economics to argue that the turmoil of 2007-2009 represents a
crisis of financialised capitalism, and is thus systemic and
unusual. The book puts the crisis in its appropriate context,
drawing on Marxist and other unorthodox economics to cast light on
the broader implications of financialisation for society.
On the 25th January 2015 the Greek people voted in an election of
historic importance-not just for Greece but potentially all of
Europe. The radical party Syriza was elected and austerity and the
neoliberal agenda is being challenged. Suddenly it seems as if
there is an alternative. But what? The Eurozone is in a deep and
prolonged crisis. It is now clear that monetary union is a historic
failure, beyond repair-and certainly not in the interests of
Europe's working people. Building on the economic analysis of two
of Europe's leading thinkers, Heiner Flassbeck and Costas
Lapavitsas (a candidate standing for election on Syriza's list),
Against the Troika is the first book to propose a strategic
left-wing plan for how peripheral countries could exit the euro.
With a change in government in Greece, and looming political
transformations in countries such as Spain, this major intervention
lays out a radical, anti-capitalist programme at a critical
juncture for Europe. The final three chapters offer a detailed
postmortem of the Greek catastrophe, explain what can be learned
from it-and provide a possible alternative. Against the Troika is a
practical blueprint for real change in a continent wracked by
crisis and austerity.
Financialization is one of the most innovative concepts to emerge
in the field of political economy in the last three decades,
although there is no agreement on what exactly it is. Profiting
Without Producing defines financialization in terms of the
fundamental conduct of non-financial enterprises, banks and
households. Its most prominent feature is the rise of financial
profit, in part extracted directly from households through
financial expropriation. Financialized capitalism is prone to
crises, none greater than the gigantic turmoil that began in 2007.
Using abundant empirical data, the book establishes the causes of
the crisis and discusses the options broadly available for
controlling finance.
This essential volume collects the papers of Costas Lapavistas, one
of the first political economists to notice the ascendancy of money
and finance as dominant features of contemporary capitalism. These
ground breaking papers range far and wide, covering markets and
money, finance and the enterprise, power and money, the
financialisation of capitalism, finance and profit, and even the
subject of money as art.
The Ottoman Empire went through rapid economic and social
development in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries,
as it approached its end. Profound changes took place in its
European territories, particularly and prominently in Macedonia. In
the decades before the First World War, industrial capitalism began
to emerge in Ottoman Macedonia and its impact was felt across
society. The port city of Salonica was at the epicentre of this
transformation, led by its Jewish community. But the most
remarkable site of development was found deep in provincial
Macedonia, where industrial capitalism sprang from domestic sources
in spite of unfavourable conditions. Ottoman Greek traders and
industrialists from the region of Mount Vermion helped shape the
economic trajectory of 'Turkey in Europe', and competed
successfully against Jewish capitalists from Salonica. The story of
Ottoman Macedonian capitalism was nearly forgotten in the century
that followed the demise of the Empire. This book pieces it
together by unearthing Ottoman archival materials combined with
Greek sources and field research. It offers a fresh perspective on
late Ottoman economic history and will be an invaluable resource
for scholars of Ottoman, Greek and Turkish history. Published in
Association with the British Institute at Ankara
The Ottoman Empire went through rapid economic and social
development in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries,
as it approached its end. Profound changes took place in its
European territories, particularly and prominently in Macedonia. In
the decades before the First World War, industrial capitalism began
to emerge in Ottoman Macedonia and its impact was felt across
society. The port city of Salonica was at the epicentre of this
transformation, led by its Jewish community. But the most
remarkable site of development was found deep in provincial
Macedonia, where industrial capitalism sprang from domestic sources
in spite of unfavourable conditions. Ottoman Greek traders and
industrialists from the region of Mount Vermion helped shape the
economic trajectory of 'Turkey in Europe', and competed
successfully against Jewish capitalists from Salonica. The story of
Ottoman Macedonian capitalism was nearly forgotten in the century
that followed the demise of the Empire. This book pieces it
together by unearthing Ottoman archival materials combined with
Greek sources and field research. It offers a fresh perspective on
late Ottoman economic history and will be an invaluable resource
for scholars of Ottoman, Greek and Turkish history. Published in
Association with the British Institute at Ankara
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