joan robinson

Games Economists Play

21 April 2013

The purpose of studying economics is not to acquire a set of ready-made answers to economic questions, but to learn how to avoid being deceived by economists. – Joan Robinson, 1955, “Marx, Marshall And Keynes”, Occasional Paper No. 9, The Delhi School of Economics, University Of Delhi, Delhi. It is fun to watch what economists have to say after [...]

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Trade Elasticities, Floating Exchanges And Debt Sustainability

30 January 2013

[Although the following is a response aimed at one comment, it can be read in general] In my post on the connection between balance of payments and debt sustainability, I got a “you are wrong” comment saying the analysis is based on the notion of trade elasticities which doesn’t exist (or is a chimerical notion) [...]

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The Beggar-My-Neighbour Game

19 January 2013

How did Keynes and the Cambridge Keynesians (such as Joan Robinson, Richard Kahn, Nicholas Kaldor and Wynne Godley) think the world economy works? A few important principles relevant here and of course not exhaustive: First, real demand, output and employment is determined by the fiscal and monetary policies of the government with the former having [...]

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“Free Trade Doctrine, In Practice, Is A More Subtle Form Of Mercantilism”

10 January 2013

Dani Rodrik has written a very interesting article The New Mercantilist Challenge for Project Syndicate.  Perhaps it is the main aim of this blog to argue how the sacred tenet of free trade is devastating to the world as a whole and why a sustainable resolution of a crisis can only be achieved by new international agreements on [...]

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