home | about IDEAs | contact | archives  
Search
 
News Analysis

Cry Wolf but do not ignore Tomorrow's Tigers

Heiner Flassbeck
Most commentators treat Greece's domestic problems and those of other southern members of the European Monetary Union (EMU) as if they were totally unrelated to external trade within and outside EMU. But, if Europe cannot agree on a concerted action with explicit decisions about wage adjustment paths to rebalance its trade, these external imbalances could lead to dissolution of the EMU.
FDI and the Balance of Payments in the 2000s
C.P. Chandrasekhar & Jayati Ghosh
The most quoted indicator of the success of economic reform is the noticeable rise in the inflow of foreign direct investment during the last decade and a half. However, the available Indian evidence on the performance of foreign direct investment companies suggests that their balance of payments consequences are adverse.
   
Financial Euphoria and Aftershock
Jayati Ghosh
John Kenneth Galbraith's analysis of the capitalist economy in the delightfully written tract ''A Short History of Financial Euphoria'' remains as relevant today as it was then. However, unlike what Galbraith offers, the solution to capitalism's proneness to recurrent bouts of speculation has to go beyond capitalist markets and profit motivation.
Speculation against the Euro
Luiz Carlos Bresser-Pereira
The latest speculative attack against Greece, one
of the fragile countries in the eurozone, is another evidence of the need to strictly regulate banks and hedge funds. It also brings home the point that money is a powerful and dangerous public good that democratic societies must have control over.
   
The Crisis and Employment in Asia
C.P. Chandrasekhar & Jayati Ghosh
Despite scepticism about its sustainability, evidence shows that the crisis of 2008-09 has bottomed out and a recovery is likely, driven by the fiscal stimulus offered by governments across the world. But figures from the ILO indicate that the impact of the stimulus on employment appears uneven, with export dependent economies in Asia too adversely affected.
Euroland is Being Crucified Upon Its Own Cross of Gold
Thomas I. Palley
The neoliberal doctrine followed by the European monetary union (EMU) is the main reason for the current economic woes being faced by Euroland countries in the context of the financial crisis. To break out of the current scenario, it is necessary to forsake the dogmatic monetary policies still being followed.
   
K.N. Raj: Outstanding economist, institution builder, beacon for young people
C. Rammanohar Reddy
The years after independence saw a number of outstanding young men and women throw their hearts and bodies into building a new India. K.N. Raj was a giant of that generation. Professor Raj was many things: an outstanding economist, an excellent teacher, a builder of institutions, a beacon for young people and, not least, someone who could think well ahead of his time.
Can the Euro Survive?
Jayati Ghosh
The focus of financial market attention in the past week has been on the fiscal problems in some developed countries within the European Union, in particular Greece, Portugal etc. The fiscal problems in Greece are currently the most pronounced, but the problem posed by the sovereign debt issues of the country is deeper and potentially more significant. In fact, it is not just about the current problem of Greece or any other country, but the larger issue of stability and viability of the eurozone itself.
   
Are we Heading for Another Global Primary Commodity Price Surge?
C.P. Chandrasekhar & Jayati Ghosh
Following the unprecedented volatility of global commodity prices in 2007-08, it was widely predicted that the global economic crisis would generate a dampening effect on such prices. But the recent revival of prices especially in some commodities suggests that this perception may be premature. Examining recent trends in global commodity prices and the reasons behind them, the article assesses the prospects for prices in the immediate future.
Cloud over Islamic Banking
C.P. Chandrasekhar & Jayati Ghosh
The large surpluses which accumulated with West Asian oil exporters after the 1970s generated a demand for financial products that were sharia-compliant. The Islamic financial industry, which grew as a result, was seen as a different and safer component of the global financial sector. But the Dubai World debacle and much else suggests that these judgments were not warranted.
   
The Decade of Living Dangerously: CEOs and Capitalism
Jayati Ghosh
The policy-created bubble in the US housing and financial sectors during 2002-2007 was only a repeat of the earlier 1990s process, albeit on an even larger scale. While the current crisis has once again brought to the fore the crucial role played by fraud and deceit in the accumulation of capital in a capitalist system, global capitalism may still manage to reinvent itself. But this time round, it would require a major change of course.
Sovereign Default in the Core?
C.P. Chandrasekhar
The possibility of sovereign default flagged in by Dubai World together with the changed distribution of sovereign debt globally has created a new context: it is not governments of poor developing countries that are now the principal source of danger, but the metropolitan centres of capitalism.
   
Bye-Bye Dubai?
C.P. Chandrasekhar & Jayati Ghosh
The near default of the biggest state conglomerate of Dubai has sent shock waves across global markets. Analysing the factors behind Dubai's recent growth and the causes of the current crisis, the authors argue that the collapse of the Dubai dream is not a sui generis event without any implications for wider markets. Rather, it may be a straw in the wind indicating that the travails of finance capitalism in the current period are far from over.
Recovery or Bubble?
C.P. Chandrasekhar
Although the US's policy of easy money triggered a recovery in some economies, it has generated a bubble similar to the one that preceded the 2008 downturn. Thus the emerging story of a new speculative boom and a fresh bubble driven by finance capital has led to growing fears of a second downturn or double dip recession.
   
More on News Analysis >>    
   
 
  © International Development
Economics Associates 2010
 

Best viewed on Internet Explorer 6 & Netscape Navigator 6 and above