Macroscopic

With the Conservative Party Conference beginning yesterday in Birmingham, there is no doubt that anyone tuning in to the news over the next few days will be subjected to the annual, tiresome jubilant exultation of this current government's previous successes, basking in a honeymoon period that is set to continue indefinitely as long as the opposition is viewed by the electorate as incompetent, both intellectually and practically, which seems set to continue. Forgive me for not posting any other blogs on other political party conferences (though as this is not the BBC, balance is not a priority!), but there is a certain aspect of the current Conservative administrations which really grinds my axe. No, it is not the fact that the Conservative Party appears to pick and choose precisely what it is conservative about, nor the fact that it is no longer 'conservative' in any philosophically respectable sense, instead smuggling a form of libertarianism in by the back door (indeed J...

(I am conscious that, although the sub-heading of this blog quite clearly states 'macroeconomics' as its primary focus, there has been precious little for the reader tuning in for any comment upon such issues! My apologies -  this entry is an attempt to rectify that...well, to some degree.) Inequality, and its perception in the public eye, has seemingly become one of the key policy issues of our time. Indeed only today, the World Bank has renewed its drive against 'rising inequality' in the world, and Theresa May heads to the Conservative Party Conference with the soundbite - "A country that works for everyone". Headline figures, such as those published by Oxfam  last year, shocked many and have stoked public opinion in the direction of actions against the global super-rich. The publications of dozens of bestsellers, such as Joseph Stiglitz's The Price of Inequality (2012), Wilson and Pickett's The Spirit Level (2010),  Danny Dorling's Inequality...