Abstract
In the graveyard of economic ideology, dead ideas still stalk the land. The recent financial crisis laid bare many of the assumptions behind market liberalism--the theory that market-based solutions are always best, regardless of the problem. For decades, their advocates dominated mainstream economics, and their influence created a system where an unthinking faith in markets led many to view speculative investments as fundamentally safe. The crisis seemed to have killed off these ideas, but they still live on in the minds of many--members of the public, commentators, politicians, economists, and even those charged with cleaning up the mess. In Zombie Economics, John Quiggin explains how these dead ideas still walk among us--and why we must find a way to kill them once and for all if we are to avoid an even bigger financial crisis in the future. Zombie Economics takes the reader through the origins, consequences, and implosion of a system of ideas whose time has come and gone. These beliefs--that deregulation had conquered the financial cycle, that markets were always the best judge of value, that policies designed to benefit the rich made everyone better off--brought us to the brink of disaster once before, and their persistent hold on many threatens to do so again. Because these ideas will never die unless there is an alternative, Zombie Economics also looks ahead at what could replace market liberalism, arguing that a simple return to traditional Keynesian economics and the politics of the welfare state will not be enough--either to kill dead ideas, or prevent future crises. In a new chapter, Quiggin brings the book up to date with a discussion of the re-emergence of pre-Keynesian ideas about austerity and balanced budgets as a response to recession.
Highlights
Best known for his work on utility theory, Quiggin is among the top 500 economists in the world according to IDEAS/RePEc
Q: You argue in Zombie Economics that certain long-held economic beliefs no longer apply, and that they have contributed to the recent crises, but they are still walking around like zombies
In the postwar golden age, the experience of the leading economies was very different from today: full employment was sustained for decades on end, social equality was greater than at any time before or since, and economic growth rates were higher than at any time before or since
Summary
Q: You argue in Zombie Economics that certain long-held economic beliefs no longer apply, and that they have contributed to the recent crises, but they are still walking around like zombies. John Quiggin is an Australian economist and professor at the University of Queensland. Best known for his work on utility theory, Quiggin is among the top 500 economists in the world according to IDEAS/RePEc. Quiggin authors an Australian blog, and is a regular contributor to Crooked Timber.
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