tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2546602206734889307.post6641201571927839490..comments2024-03-28T04:29:22.717+00:00Comments on mainly macro: Good and Bad Blog DebatesMainly Macrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09984575852247982901noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2546602206734889307.post-70018234232787450762014-06-14T06:04:49.334+00:002014-06-14T06:04:49.334+00:00Pr Wren-Lewis is neither a monetarist or a fiscali...Pr Wren-Lewis is neither a monetarist or a fiscalist. He's a macro economist who seek to use the best tool, of either breed, to solve problems.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2546602206734889307.post-39638397090621042312014-06-13T21:51:30.269+00:002014-06-13T21:51:30.269+00:00Sorry you have to deal with this, Simon!Sorry you have to deal with this, Simon!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2546602206734889307.post-8374589470505846112014-06-13T21:04:35.266+00:002014-06-13T21:04:35.266+00:00It seems to me that fiscal policy cannot be exclus...It seems to me that fiscal policy cannot be exclusively about debt stabilization. Adjusting expenditures over the business cycle to changes in the differences between market and shadow prices of project inputs and in the discount rate over the life of a project is also involved. Of does the latter imply the former? Thaomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14747215297590200584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2546602206734889307.post-6486506777483911782014-06-13T14:29:58.060+00:002014-06-13T14:29:58.060+00:00You are only sometimes right. If there are unused ...You are only sometimes right. If there are unused resources they can be put to use by governmet investments without crowding out anything. That has been the situation since 2007, to an all-too-slowly declining degree. The percent of the working age population that is employed remains at a dismal level.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2546602206734889307.post-21762349755766176752014-06-13T11:51:19.840+00:002014-06-13T11:51:19.840+00:00My reading: Simon is 95% monetarist (speaking only...My reading: Simon is 95% monetarist (speaking only about the assignment question), and 5% monetarist+fiscalist. But I wouldn't care if you spend 100% of your time writing about that 5% of cases, simply because it interests you.Nick Rowehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04982579343160429422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2546602206734889307.post-64641415074651063302014-06-13T11:38:31.187+00:002014-06-13T11:38:31.187+00:00This one has been a good debate overall, IMHO. You...This one has been a good debate overall, IMHO. You are someone worth arguing with.<br /><br />I'm trying to join in, but my draft post isn't coming out right yet.Nick Rowehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04982579343160429422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2546602206734889307.post-66657461338809911152014-06-13T11:29:11.531+00:002014-06-13T11:29:11.531+00:00It should never be about who is wrong or right, th...It should never be about who is wrong or right, the focus and solutions are in what, instead of who.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2546602206734889307.post-41621317928317139492014-06-13T10:11:59.960+00:002014-06-13T10:11:59.960+00:00@Simon, Mark, et al: There is this hot topic being...@Simon, Mark, et al: There is this hot topic being debated that fiscal actions need to be boosted when not enough investments are forthcoming from the corporate sector. But is it not true that the stock of savings is fixed, if the government wants to make infrastructure investments, it must issue debt that would make savers divert part of their savings to these instruments thus drawing down on the savings that would have otherwise moved to other investments and consumption. So effectively government fiscal actions actually crowds out private investments or consumption by drawing down on existing savings that are earmarked for these.<br /><br />Am I right?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14075186641564390804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2546602206734889307.post-27773264202307634102014-06-13T07:53:36.405+00:002014-06-13T07:53:36.405+00:00I don't see why you are debating this guy, Sim...I don't see why you are debating this guy, Simon.<br /><br />He evidently does not understand your papers (see his response, where he claims you argued that aggregate demand deficit at the union level should be responded to by fiscal rather than monetary policy even AWAY from the ZLB, thus completely failing to see what you even meant with countercyclical fiscal policy where countercyclical is in relation to other union members) and he does not understand what the ZLB means itself. He claims that the >1% interest rate set by the ECB and the unfortunate hike are proof that Europe was not at the ZLB - a crazy twisting of what the concept is referring to (real interest rates being constrained by nominal rates and thus not being able to equilibrate supply and demand) towards a weird naive literalist interpretation! <br /><br />Apparently, he believes that if we are in a boom and the CB sets interest rates at zero because they have collectively gone mad, we are at the ZLB (and what would that imply for fiscal policy?), ... since when is the CB infallible and their actions are the word of the economy God, decreeing at what state we are in the business cycle?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2546602206734889307.post-90271552169652081082014-06-13T07:23:13.251+00:002014-06-13T07:23:13.251+00:00"Abenomics has demonstrated that a credible c..."Abenomics has demonstrated that a credible commitment to raise inflation does, in fact, work to stimuluate the real economy."<br /><br />No, any benefits from Abenomics is coming from Japan's competitive devaluation (on the order of 40%). The rise in price inflation, with wage inflation lagging, is increasing inequality in a country which hitherto has been remarkably resistant to the Anglo-Saxon disease; hardly something to brag about. ahttp://www.a.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2546602206734889307.post-28442805383332039622014-06-12T19:46:42.676+00:002014-06-12T19:46:42.676+00:00My response:
http://thefaintofheart.wordpress.com...My response:<br /><br />http://thefaintofheart.wordpress.com/2014/06/12/is-fiscalist-policy-advice-consistent-with-their-research-and-just-how-interested-is-simon-wren-lewis-in-debt-stabilization/Mark A. Sadowskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08259309059705236763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2546602206734889307.post-32367406789707161112014-06-12T15:29:15.155+00:002014-06-12T15:29:15.155+00:00Prof. Wren-Lewis,
I agree with you as to avoiding...Prof. Wren-Lewis,<br /><br />I agree with you as to avoiding personalizing debates. It's a common affliction that affects commentators across ideologies. <br /><br />Also, not to beat a dead horse on the Monetarist-Fiscalist issue, but here's where I think you've not fully described the mindset of market monetarists who oppose fiscal stimulus.<br /><br />If the central bank is targeting inflation at the ZLB, then monetary expansion is NECESSARY to stimuluate the economy. The key empirical data point here is Japan. Japan in the 90s and 2000s demonstrated that massive fiscal expansion, if not accompanied by monetary easing, does nothing besides generate a ruinous debt load.<br /><br />Abenomics has demonstrated that a credible commitment to raise inflation does, in fact, work to stimuluate the real economy. But if this is true, what is the role of fiscal stimulus? The market monetarist answer, is: none at all. <br /><br />Samhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03796339415643845682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2546602206734889307.post-90508457450036104822014-06-12T12:45:13.244+00:002014-06-12T12:45:13.244+00:00When scoring these blog debates, I dock people poi...When scoring these blog debates, I dock people points whenever they go ad hominem. For me it's a sign that they're losing the debate and are trying to through up some distraction since they're getting frustrated or something.<br /><br />But to the ideas... as an amateur I would guess that the focus has been on aggregate demand stabilization since that has been the main problem since 2008 in the U.S and Europe and 2011 again in Europe. And there's been a new effort in Japan with Abenomics. <br /><br />And aggregate demand stabilization and debt stabilization are related anyway. Too much austerity will hurt aggregate demand levels. Too much bad debt, like with the European periphery (when capial inflows turn to outlfows), will hurt aggregate demand as well.<br /><br />Stabilizing aggregate demand levels at optimal levels will make it easier for governments to stabilize their debt levels. Tax revenues will be higher and there will be less spending on safety net programs. The time to pay down the debt is during boom times. For me, stabilizing aggregate demand levels via fiscal policy, if done well, is a better way to go for a few different reasons. The impact on inequality. The impact on financial stability and asset bubbles within the context of deregulation. But monetary policy is better than nothing.<br /><br />I don't see how debt stabilization is "boring." Maybe Sadowski could explain. It is what it is. Whenever I bring up monetary policy to some of my friends and family, their eyes glaze over. Thank goodness we have blogs.<br />Peterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08272747870634233567noreply@blogger.com