Negotiations in Washington are providing an instructive lesson in political economy as both parties haggle over terms for raising the … Continue reading “America’s debt ceiling crisis”

Next week, Conservative MP Sajid Javid will put forward a ‘ten minute rule bill’ to attempt to introduce a legal … Continue reading “Can we cap the debt?”

A second aid package to the Greek government hinges on severe austerity measures. Why doesn’t Greece simply default and leave the … Continue reading “Why doesn’t Greece simply default?”

The eurozone came with fine aspirations: according to article 127 in the consolidated version of the Treaty on the Functioning … Continue reading “Sovereign debt restructuring and the euro crisis”

Despite the cuts, the coalition Government will raise our national debt by almost £500bn over this Parliament. This is just … Continue reading “Set the economy free to meet tough challenges ahead”

Earlier this year I published a report estimating British government debt at £4.8 trillion . However, over the summer the Office for National … Continue reading “It’s official – the British government owes trillions”

David Blanchflower has once again suggested that we would not need to worry about austerity if only we allowed price inflation … Continue reading “Blanchflower has an inflated view of the powers of central banks”

What’s the easiest way for a government to push their country into the top ten in a worldwide ranking of … Continue reading “From an inflation-fuelled state-run economy to an overregulated high-tax economy”