reflexivity

Compared to the 1930s, this deflationary crisis has played out much slower and more benignly. That doesn’t mean it isn’t a crisis. It is one, as evidenced by the beggar-thy-neighbour tactics like negative rates and quantitative easing that…

Editor's Note: The following is the text of recent remarks on the European sovereign debt crisis made by legendary investor George Soros at the Festival of Economics in Trento, Italy.

Paul Davidson argues that a theory is the way humans describe real world observations on the basis of a model that starts with a few axioms. An axiom is an assumption accepted as a universal truth that does not need to be proved. From this…

Below is a framework that delineates the ideology and economics of two groups of economic thought that are much talked about in the wake of the Credit Crisis: the Chartalists and the Austrians. These two groups are considered outside of the…

George Soros makes the case for economics as a social science using his theory of reflexivity. Here are some additional thoughts to help understand why markets fail.

Today marks the first time we are witnessing a regularly scheduled news conference by a Fed chairman in the Federal Reserve's 98-year history. Most reactions to Ben Bernanke's performance were positive, meaning he reiterated the themes he…

Here's a morning note from UBS' Andy Lees in London on core inflation that made me think. Andy writes: Opinion – By focussing on core inflation rather than headline inflation, central banks are making a major policy mistake. Because…

By Marc Chandler and the BBH Currency Strategy Team Europe’s debt crisis remains among the most important factors in the global capital markets. By some market-based measures, like interest rate spreads and credit default swap prices, the…

Paul Davidson argues that the Obama Administration and its allies in Congress have not actually followed the prescriptions laid out by the British economist Lord Keynes in making economic policy – and that this is a principal reason for…

The economic historian Arnold Toynbee argued that civilization began in the East, expanded around the world, and will return to the East. Even if expressed somewhat differently, many people seem to believe that the 21st century will be a…