Category Archives: Economic fundamentals

Russia’s Budget Deficit Jumps Amid Plunging Oil Revenues

Russia had a budget shortfall due to a fall in energy-related tax receipts. How serious a problem is this development?

The Economics of the Ukraine Proxy War with Michael Hudson and Radhika Desai

A meaty discussion of the broader implications of the war in Ukraine.

James Galbraith: The Quasi-Inflation of 2021-2022 – A Case of Bad Analysis and Worse Response

Galbraith explains why conventional views of inflation are a particularly poor fit for recent price increases and produced bad policy

Employment of “People with a Disability” Spiked to Record in Hot Labor Market. Applications for Disability Benefits Fell to 20-Year Low

Covid-induced labor market tighteness is giving people with a disabilty more access to jobs than evah.

US Inflation Policies Slowing World Economy

The Fed is playing killer of the current inflation even though it isn’t set up to do so. That’s hurting a lot of innocent bystanders.

An Old, Small Opening Salvo v Russia? 2013 Bank Bail-In “increasingly has the smell of a proxy Germany v. Russia struggle through Cyprus”

A closer look at an old Eurozone banking crisis shows how Cyprus was (at least to a degree) used to get at Russia.

Anecdata on the Restructuring of the Russian Economy

A report from a Russian working abroad about the effect of the war on his industry.

Radhika Desai and Michael Hudson Discuss the Causes and Politicization of Inflation

Desai and Hudson debunk widely-believed, finance-and-elite-serving myths about inflation.

The Post-Covid Global Economy: Could Negative Supply Shocks Disrupt Other Fragile Systems?

Continuing shocks to the economy threaten the stability of democracies that already show significant signs of fragility

Davos Elite Won’t Tackle Climate Crisis and Global Inequalities

Quelle surprise! Change on crucial issues of climate and inequality is unlikely to emerge from the World Economic Forum.

Google’s Stock Climbed After It Fired 12,000 Employees—But What Did They Get Out of It?

Tech companeis laying off tens of thousands of employees, underscoring their fixation on short-term performance metrics.

Monopsony in Professional Labor Markets: Hospital System Concentration and Nurse Wage Growth

elle surprise! “Growing consolidation in localized hospital markets appears to restrict nurse wage growth.”

Will Russia Opt to Continue the War into 2024?

It isn’t just that time is generally on Russia’s side. Russia likely needs to grind on and on to achieve its ultimate aim, security.

Collapse Revisited: Climate Change and the Development of Middle-Income Countries

Middle income countries are unwilling to put groaf on hold to blunt climate change…and they do have a point given the lack of serious plans