Conventional economics’ treatment of labour is among its many weaknesses. As has been explained elsewhere in Economics2030, economics is even worse at dealing with the concept of capital. This, of course, hasn’t prevented conventional economists loading their models with variables representing…
Month: October 2014
Why Russell Brand may be better at economics than economists
British comedian and actor Russell Brand has written a book named Revolution. It was published to general derision by reviewers last week. In the past 12 months, he’s guest-edited the British political weekly The New Statesman, appeared on the BBC’s…
Can faith and economics ever be reconciled?
Claiming to be scientists, economists are uncomfortable with the idea of a supernatural being the existence of which can’t be proven. Some may be believers, but almost none let this influence the theories they propound and the policies they recommend.…
McKinsey versus Monbiot: the great debate about corporations in the intangible era
McKinsey, the legendary management consultancy whose alumni include global chief executives and prominent public figures, celebrated the 50th anniversary of the creation of the McKinsey Quarterly with articles in the journal’s September edition about the future of the corporation and…
Intangible capital is at the heart of the corporate taxation crisis
On 30 September, the European Commission started an investigation into deals between the government of the Republic of Ireland and Apple that helped the US company avoid tax. If the commission rules the deals are illegal state aid, Apple might…
The market can’t solve the global infrastructure crisis
A new report by the IMF says that there is growing concern that low levels of infrastructure investment are hindering economic growth. “In many emerging market economies, infrastructure bottlenecks are not just a medium-term worry but have been flagged as…