Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

GRhodes

GRhodes's Journal
GRhodes's Journal
May 30, 2016

New IMF Paper Challenges Neoliberal Orthodoxy

Good paper, worth reading. However, I doubt it will make a difference as far as what the IMF actually does. They did a staff report on the failure of austerity a few years ago and did exactly what that paper critiqued thereafter. Good reading anyway.

Here's a summary from Nakedcapitalism, with the link to the paper. How many "moderate" and right wing Democrats (in power and on this site) will ignore this? Many, as it challenges the some of the essential elements of the very economic model the Clintons and president Obama support.

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2016/05/new-imf-paper-challenges-neoliberal-orthodoxy.html

While the IMF’s research team has for many years chipped away at mainstream economic thinking, a short, accessible paper makes an even more frontal challenge. It’s caused such a stir that the Financial Times featured it on its front page. We’ve embedded it at the end of this post and encourage you to read it and circulate it.

The article cheekily flags the infamous case of the Chicago Boys, Milton Friedman’s followers in Pinochet’s Chile, as having been falsely touted as a success. If anything, the authors are too polite in describing what a train wreck resulted. A plutocratic land grab and speculation-fueled bubble led quickly to a depression, forcing Pinochet to implement Keynesian policies, as well as rolling back labor “reforms,” to get the economy back on its feet.

The papers describes three ways in which neoliberal reforms do more harm than good.

...Overly mobile capital...Austerity...Increasing inequality.

Profile Information

Member since: Sat May 28, 2016, 03:02 PM
Number of posts: 162
Latest Discussions»GRhodes's Journal