Economics and politics - comment and analysis

Does automation destroy jobs? Part 2

The prevalent and dystopian image of robots destroying jobs rests upon another popular image that has also gained widespread currency: the assumption that labour productivity has increased dramatically. This assumption makes logical sense since the purpose of automation is to increase productivity. …

More …

An answer from the German Ministry of Finance to the letter of five economists to Angela Merkel? Not quite!

30. July 2015 I Economic Policy, Europe

Ludger Schuknecht, the head of the Department for “Fiscal and Economic Policy Questions” at the German Federal Department of Finance, responded in the Sueddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) to the open letter that Heiner Flassbeck, Dani Rodrik, Thomas Piketty, Jeffrey Sachs and Simon Wren-Lewis wrote to Angela Merkel on July 7. …

More …

France and ‘the need for labour market reforms’ – The German Minister of Finance will never understand the currency union and France should finally respond assertively (0,50 €)

8. May 2015 I Economic Policy, Europe

This is the translation of an article that was published April 24, 2015 on flassbeck-economics. We are publishing one article in English every week to allow more readers to follow closely our analysis of global and European events. However, translation is not free and we have to ask for a contribution from our English speaking readers also. …

More …