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James K. Galbraith

James K. Galbraith

39 commentaries
1 videos & podcasts

James K. Galbraith, Professor of Government and Chair in Government/Business Relations at the University of Texas at Austin, is a former staff economist for the House Banking Committee and a former executive director of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress. From 1993-97, he served as chief technical adviser for macroeconomic reform to China’s State Planning Commission. He is the co-author (with Jing Chen) of the forthcoming Entropy Economics: The Living Basis of Value and Production (University of Chicago Press).

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  1. Mainstream Economics’ Medieval Inflation Medicine
    galbraith31_Kent Nishimura  Los Angeles Times via Getty Images_fed Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

    Mainstream Economics’ Medieval Inflation Medicine

    Dec 29, 2023 James K. Galbraith shows how prevailing economic thinking is analogous to the theory of the “four humors” in ancient medicine.

  2. Will High Interest Rates Trigger a Debt Disaster?
    galbraith30_Win McNameeGetty Images_powell Win McNamee/Getty Images

    Will High Interest Rates Trigger a Debt Disaster?

    Dec 1, 2023 James K. Galbraith shows that renewed warnings about dangerous debt-to-GDP ratios are belied by history and recent experience.

  3. Why Mainstream Economics Got Inflation Wrong
    galbraith29_STEFANI REYNOLDSAFP via Getty Images_jeromepowell Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

    Why Mainstream Economics Got Inflation Wrong

    Nov 15, 2023 James K. Galbraith thinks the misdiagnosis of price growth in 2021-22 speaks to a larger problem with the discipline.

  4. Down on the Biden Economy
    galbraith28_ Chip SomodevillaGetty Images_biden Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    Down on the Biden Economy

    Sep 20, 2023 James K. Galbraith thinks the failure of wages to keep up with inflation explains much of the public’s dour mood.

  5. America’s “New” China Narrative
    galbraith27_ HECTOR RETAMALAFP via Getty Images_china economy HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images

    America’s “New” China Narrative

    Aug 17, 2023 James K. Galbraith thinks the current US conventional wisdom misses the point and is being driven by ulterior motives.

  1. goldberg28_DENIS BALIBOUSEPOOLAFP via Getty Images_wto Denis Balibouse/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

    Why Have Developing Countries Soured on Multilateralism?

    Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg traces the roots of dissatisfaction to advanced economies' use of bodies like the World Trade Organization.
  2. stiglitz331_serggnGetty Images_techregulation serggn/Getty Images

    A Big Defeat for Big Tech

    Joseph E. Stiglitz

    Tech companies know that if there is an open, democratic debate about data security, consumers’ concerns about digital safeguards will win out. And while the industry's lobbyists tried to ensure that no such debate could ever occur, one of their more cynical moves has now been exposed and thwarted.

    details how the industry tried to slip extraordinary protections against regulation into US trade agreements.
  3. zizek27_Giles ClarkeGetty Images_jimmycherizier Giles Clarke/Getty Images

    Haiti’s Proud Boys

    Slavoj Žižek

    If we measure a failed state by the cracks in the edifice of its power, reflected in brewing ideological civil wars, deadlocked assemblies, and increasingly insecure public spaces, we must recognize that the United States is not so unlike Haiti. Both have given rise to violent gangs with political ambitions.

    warns that rich Western democracies are not immune to politically motivated gang violence.
  4. hedegaard11_y Dursun AydemirAnadolu via Getty Images_parliament elections Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu via Getty Images

    Unity Is Europe’s Greatest Asset

    Connie Hedegaard emphasizes the importance of stability amid persistent economic and geopolitical crises.
  5. qian34_PEDRO PARDOAFP via Getty Images_immigration PEDRO PARDO/AFP via Getty Images

    The Truth About US Immigration

    Nancy Qian warns that overheated campaign-season rhetoric is dangerously polarizing and ultimately self-defeating.
  6. mueller51_ David McNewGetty Images_gop trump David McNew/Getty Images

    The Zombification of Political Parties

    Jan-Werner Mueller argues that Donald Trump’s capture of the GOP’s organizational machinery recalls authoritarian tactics elsewhere.
  7. basu100_David Dee DelgadoGetty Images_newyork David Dee Delgado/Getty Images

    The Economic Consequences of Legal Behavior

    Kaushik Basu highlights the potential benefits of emphasizing adherence to the spirit of laws, if not their letter.
  8. brown106_KOLA SULAIMONAFP via Getty Images_nigeriaschool Kola Sulaimon/AFP via Getty Images

    For Nigeria’s Schools, Safety Must Come First

    Gordon Brown writes that the latest mass abduction of students underscores the dilemma facing parents throughout the country.
  9. owoo1_disabled iStock / Getty Images Plus

    Give Women with Disabilities a Chance

    Nkechi S. Owoo explains what is needed to protect and empower one of the world’s most vulnerable demographic groups.

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