Two Concepts of the Output Gap
Tim Congdon
Volume 9, Number 1, 2008, pages 147 - 175
Two alternative concepts of the output gap, Keynesian and monetarist, can be distinguished. When they use the phrase, economists should make clear which concept is under discussion. The first concept, developed by Okun in the early 1960s, defines the output gap relative to a full employment notion o ... Read more
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Three Cheers for the 'Progressive State'
Ben Friedman on the moral consequences of economic growth
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon
Volume 9, Number 1, 2008, pages 97 - 146
Ben Friedman is widely recognised as one of the world’s leading macroeconomists. His research and publications have focused on monetary and fiscal policy, and the key role that financial markets play in influencing how macroeconomic policies impact on aggregate economic activity. Professor Friedman’ ... Read more
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Exploring the Present Through the Past
Claudia Goldin on human capital, gender and the lessons from history
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon
Volume 8, Number 4, 2007, pages 61 - 124
Claudia Goldin is one of the world’s leading economists and economic historians, and has made a series of outstanding and original contributions particularly to the cliometric (or ‘The New Economic History’) literature. In this interview, Professor Goldin discusses with Brian Snowdon (who first prov ... Read more
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Keynes in the Long Run
Robert Skidelsky
Volume 8, Number 4, 2007, pages 47 - 60
In the light of recent market volatility, this essay asks: is Keynes dead or alive? The broad conclusion is that while macroeconomic models are still used, very little survives of Keynes’s original theory. 'New Keynesians' have replaced his key concept of radical uncertainty by models of imperfect i ... Read more
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The Power of Ideas
Joel Mokyr on the intellectual origins of the Industrial Revolution and modern economic growth
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon
Volume 8, Number 3, 2007, pages 53 - 110
Joel Mokyr is one of the world’s leading economic historians, known internationally for his numerous publications on the history of technology and the Industrial Revolution. He has also written extensively on demographic issues and Irish economic history. In this interview, Professor Mokyr discusses ... Read more
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How to Tackle Poverty
Economists are closing in on the answers
Diane Coyle
Volume 8, Number 3, 2007, pages 1 - 5
There has been an unprecedented political focus on economic development and poverty reductions since the Gleneagles Summit of 2005, yet it seems economists have been unable to agree on how to capitalise on the opportunity. Is more aid the solution? Or the problem? This article argues that, beyond th ... Read more
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Alan Budd on Diane Coyle, The Soulful Science: What Economists Really Do and Why It Matters
Volume 8, Number 1, 2007, pages 255 - 258
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Russia at the Crossroads
Padma Desai on transition, reform, and the legacy of Yeltsin’s ‘kamikaze crew’
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon
Volume 7, Number 2, 2006, pages 11 - 71
To set the interview in context, Brian Snowdon first traces out some important landmarks in twentieth-century Russian/Soviet Union history. In the conversation that follows, Professor Desai gives her views on a number of key issues relating to the decline of the Soviet system and problems of Russia’ ... Read more
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The Enduring Elixir of Economic Growth
Xavier Sala-i-Martin on the wealth and poverty of nations
An interview with introduction byBrian Snowdon
Volume 7, Number 1, 2006, pages 73 - 130
“I think that the most important question that an economist can ask is, What is it that makes a country grow? More than anything else it is economic growth that affects human welfare…this is why it must remain a major research interest for economists.” In this interview Xavier Sala-i-Martin—w ... Read more
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A Global Compact to End Poverty
Jeffrey Sachs on stabilisation, transition and weapons of mass salvation
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon
Volume 6, Number 4, 2005, pages 11 - 68
Brian Snowdon presents the text of a two-hour interview conducted with Jeffrey D. Sachs of Columbia University—a wide-ranging discussion relating to Professor Sachs’s work over the past thirty years on macroeconomic stabilisation, the economics of transition, and several important issues in the fiel ... Read more
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Keynes, Globalisation and the Bretton Woods Institutions in the Light of Changing Ideas about Markets
Robert Skidelsky
Volume 6, Number 1, 2005, pages 15 - 30
For most of the twentieth century, pessimism about, and hostility to, markets was
prevalent and this pulled in an anti-globalist direction. Indeed, the global
institutions set up in 1944 were constructed by two market pessimists, John
Maynard Keynes, on whom this article concentrates, and Harry D ... Read more
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The Influence of Political Distortions on Economic Performance
The contributions of Alberto Alesina
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon
Volume 5, Number 4, 2004, pages 91 - 136
Alberto Alesina is the Nathaniel Ropes Professor of Political Economy and
Chairman of the Department of Economics at Harvard University. In this
interview he discusses with Brian Snowdon his views on several important
contemporary issues, including politics and the business cycle, budget deficits ... Read more
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Monetarism: A Rejoinder
Tim Congdon
Volume 5, Number 3, 2004, pages 179 - 197
Tim Congdon responds to the article by Thomas Mayer
and Patrick Minford, ‘Monetarism: A
Retrospective’ that appeared in World Economics, Vol. 5,
No. 2 (April–June), 2004, pp. 147–185.
... Read more
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Monetarism in Retrospect — and Prospect
Andrew G Haldane
Volume 5, Number 3, 2004, pages 171 - 178
Andrew Haldane responds to the article by Thomas Mayer
and Patrick Minford, ‘Monetarism: A
Retrospective’ that appeared in World Economics, Vol. 5,
No. 2 (April–June), 2004, pp. 147–185. ... Read more
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Monetarism: A Response
Meghnad Desai
Volume 5, Number 3, 2004, pages 165 - 170
Meghnad Desai responds to the article by Thomas Mayer
and Patrick Minford, ‘Monetarism: A
Retrospective’ that appeared in World Economics, Vol. 5,
No. 2 (April–June), 2004, pp. 147–185.
... Read more
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Monetarism Revisited
Allan Meltzer
Volume 5, Number 3, 2004, pages 161 - 164
Allan Meltzer responds to the article by Thomas Mayer
and Patrick Minford, ‘Monetarism: A
Retrospective’ that appeared in World Economics, Vol. 5,
No. 2 (April–June), 2004, pp. 147–185.
... Read more
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What Do Economists Know?
Alan Budd
Volume 5, Number 3, 2004, pages 17 - 26
How would you respond to a group of high school students when asked
“What do economists know?”. Alan Budd’s answers will be familiar to readers of
World Economics but bear repeating. Economics, unlike, say, Physics, tends to
attract beliefs and opinions by non-specialists held with as much ... Read more
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Monetarism
A retrospective
Thomas Mayer & Patrick Minford
Volume 5, Number 2, 2004, pages 147 - 185
This paper offers a retrospective on the monetarist debate started by Milton
Friedman in the 1950s, discussing both monetarist theory and policy
recommendations. While the inability to find a controllable monetary aggregate
with a velocity that can be accurately predicted has severely damaged the ... Read more
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Explaining the ‘Great Divergence’
Daron Acemoglu on how growth theorists rediscovered history and the importance of institutions
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon
Volume 5, Number 2, 2004, pages 83 - 130
Daron Acemoglu is Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology. In this interview he discusses with Brian Snowdon some of his
recent research findings that confirm the key role played by ‘good’ and ‘bad’
institutions in determining the economic performance of countries. He ... Read more
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The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics
A biographical guide to potential future winners
Howard R. Vane & Chris Mulhearn
Volume 5, Number 1, 2004, pages 159 - 181
In October 2003 the latest recipients of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics
were announced. Since its inception in 1969, 53 economists have been awarded
the Prize. A closer look at the biographical details of the Nobel Memorial
Laureates—including their broad field of study, citizenship, unive ... Read more
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Beyond the Ivory Tower
Stanley Fischer on the economics of contemporary global issues
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon
Volume 5, Number 1, 2004, pages 67 - 114
Stanley Fischer had a long and distinguished career as an academic economist at
MIT, and was Vice President, Development Economics and Chief Economist at
the World Bank, before becoming First Deputy Managing Director of the
International Monetary Fund in 1994. He is now President of Citigroup
In ... Read more
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Back to the Future
Jeffrey Williamson on globalisation in history
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon
Volume 4, Number 4, 2003, pages 95 - 138
Jeffrey Williamson is a leading authority on the economic history of the
international economy. His interests cover a wide area within the field of
economic history and include research on international economic development,
the industrial revolution, industrialisation and de-industrialisation, t ... Read more
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In Search of the Holy Grail
William Easterly on the Elusive Quest for Growth and Development
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon
Volume 4, Number 3, 2003, pages 51 - 92
Having conducted extensive research in the field of economic growth and
development, William Easterly has broad knowledge and expertise on the
problems facing developing countries. While working for the World Bank, he
travelled extensively in Africa, Latin America and Asia, and is well placed to
... Read more
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From Socialism to Capitalism and Democracy
János Kornai on the trials of socialism and transition
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon
Volume 4, Number 1, 2003, pages 33 - 71
János Kornai is generally regarded as the world’s leading scholar on socialist
economic systems. In this interview, Professor Kornai discusses the evolution of
his thinking on the political economy of the socialist system, its characteristics,
reform, transition and future. ... Read more
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Should We Be Globaphobic About Globalisation?
Dani Rodrik on the economic and political implications of increasing international economic integration
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon
Volume 3, Number 4, 2002, pages 147 - 192
Dani Rodrik is best known for his work on international economics, trade policy,
the institutional foundations of economic development, and the political
economy of economic policy reform. Much of his recent research has been
concerned with the limits and consequences of international economic
i ... Read more
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James Tobin, 1918–2002
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon & Howard Vane
Volume 3, Number 3, 2002, pages 121 - 160
Professor James Tobin, who died on 11 March 2002, was possibly the most eminent
of the world’s ‘Keynesian’ economists. Described by Nobel Laureate Paul Samuelson
as “the archetype of a late-twentieth century American scholar”, Tobin was
without doubt one of the most influential economists of his ...