Conquest was the old way for countries to acquire resources, but trading is much cheaper. Listener: 12 July, 2014. Keywords: Globalisation & Trade; Political Economy & History; Over the next few years, as we think back to the Great War a century ago, we will be reminded of politics and bungling, heroism…
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This was not published: 22 May, 2014. Keywords: Distributional Economics; Political Economy & History; Thomas Picketty’s book Capital in the Twenty-First Century ‘has transformed our economic discourse; we’ll never talk about wealth and inequality the same way we used to’. So said Paul Krugman explicitly and ever so many other eminent economists implicitly…
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Keywords: Macroeconomics & Money; Political Economy & History; In the Saturday 17 May 2014 issue of “The Dominion Post Weekend” Vernon small wrote an article. “English emerges smiling from global meltdown: Finance minister one of a string of highly competent money men, New Zealand has been ‘lucky to have’.” In it he quoted me….
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But is it Fair? Faith Communities and Social Justice edited by Neil Darragh and published by Accent Publications (Launched at Connolly Hall, 6.00 4 April, 2014). Keywords: Political Economy & History; Social Policy; I am not sure an economist should be launching this book. While economists are often treated as today’s secular theologians…
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It’s much easier to be environmentally pure in opposition than in government. Listener: 27 March, 2014 Keywords: Environment & Resources; Political Economy & History; Last year, a blogger argued that the Green Party did not need to engage with business interests while in opposition since whatever it did, it would win no…
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The following is extracted from a funding application. It says about where the book was in early March 2014. Keywords: Political Economy & History; Not in Narrow Seas, as its title, suggests is an ambitious history of New Zealand . It is written from an economic perspective. As such it covers many…
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Paper to the Asia Pacific Economic and Business History Conference: 13-15 February, 2014.An earlier version is at http://www.eastonbh.ac.nz/2013/11/the-economy-of-the-great-war-and-after/ Keywords: Political Economy & History; Introduction and Reflection Economic history sits in an uneasy position in the academy. It is, of course, a discipline in its own right but it is also an adjunct…
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Briefing to a Fulbright Orientation Panel: 7 February 2014 (Note there is a minor joke in this paper which New Zealanders may miss. Thomas Frank has written a widely discussed book about US politics entitled “What’s the Matter with Kansas?”. Keywords: Political Economy & History; Tena koutou katoa. Welcome to New Zealand. …
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As our main indicator of economic growth, GDP has major limitations. Listener: 30 January, 2014. Keywords: History of Ideas, Methodology & Philosophy; Political Economy & History; The expectation is for normal economic growth in the coming year. The economy peaked in September 2007 and stagnated (in per-capita terms) through to March…
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Literary classics from another era can tell us a lot about today’s economy. Listener: 2 January, 2014. Keywords: Literature and Culture; Political Economy & History; This year I’ve been reading early 19th-century novels, partly for their literary quality and narrative, but also because they shed a fascinating light on English industrialisation and…
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Oh for leaders who cushion us from economic blows and remain progressive. Listener: 12 December, 2013 Keywords: Growth & Innovation; Political Economy & History; We might pretend economic management is concerned with accelerating growth, but it is mainly about dealing with the myriad shocks that pepper the economy. The market can…
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Introduction to paper I Gave on the Great War in the Hunter Council Chamber of Victoria University of Wellington: 29 November, 2013 The paper is at http://www.eastonbh.ac.nz/2014/11/the-economy-of-the-great-war-and-after/ Keywords: Political Economy & History; This is the first occasion I have presented a paper in this Chamber, I would like to acknowledge its significance. Given…
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Rethinking War: A Stout Research Centre Conference: 28-30 November 2013. Keywords: Political Economy & History; Introduction [2] The conference title invites us to ‘rethink war’, to shift away from traditional approaches to war history. There is a tendency to think of the war as about events which occur during it. That too, but…
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The Truth Behind the Free Market by Bryan Gould (Macmillan, $54.95) This review was commissioned by ‘The Listener’ but not used Keywords: History of Ideas, Methodology & Philosophy; Political Economy & History; The dominant public narrative has a vision of business and the market as progressive forces, held back by unnecessary interventions from politicians and…
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The big issue concerning Labour’s grass roots is a bit of a surprise. Listener: 17 October, 2013 Keywords: Distributional Economics; Political Economy & History; The popular party vote that elected David Cunliffe leader of the Labour Party reveals much about what the party grass roots think. They gave a lower significance to…
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Public Sector Conference: 5-6 September, 2013 Published in Foreign Control Watchdog 134, January 2014: p.46-50 Keywords: Business & Finance; Globalisation & Trade; Governance; Political Economy & History; If you look at the top ten companies on the New Zealand share market, you will find that half were once owned by the government or…
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CLEANING UP CORRUPTION Becoming a democratic country is not as simple as just holding free elections. Listener: 5 September, 2013. Keywords: Growth & Innovation; Political Economy & History; Indonesians think of their country as a democracy following the introduction of relatively fair and free elections after the collapse of the Suharto dictatorship…
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We must remember the lesson of the 1960s and ensure the diversity of our exports and markets. Listener: 22 August, 2013. Keywords: Globalisation & Trade; Growth & Innovation; Political Economy & History; We learnt from the Great Depression of the 1930s that New Zealand was over-dependent on a few exports – wool,…
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These are some notes I prepared for a session on 15 August 2013 to students doing a Bachelor of Applied Management (Business Heritage, Culture and Sustainability section) of the Christchurch, Northland, Otago and Waikato Polytechs. Keywords: Business & Finance; Political Economy & History; To begin provocatively. Last week the government announced a…
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Nelson Spirited Conversations; 24 July, 2013. (Revised) Keywords: Distributional Economics; Political Economy & History; On a recent television program New Zealander Robert Wade, Professor of Development Studies at the London School of Economics, suggested that New Zealand might be ruled by 1 percent of the population, say 35,000 adults. The Deputy Prime Minister,…
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