The new monopoly capital literature asserts that competition in the US economy has declined over the last few decades, resulting in deteriorating consumer welfare, economic stagnation and increasing income inequality. These claims of a pervasive growth of monopoly are questionable, emerging from aggregative statistical tests of mainstream static theory without the necessary case study complements,... Continue Reading →

Widespread uneasiness has emerged concerning a perceived slowdown in productivity growth. The discussion here raises issues surrounding the evidence presented (‘trend growth in US total factor productivity’) and the policy presumptions that appear to follow from this evidence. The question is then raised – is our destiny really tied to inexorable movements in productivity and... Continue Reading →

The exchange between John Rawls and Robert Nozick is widely used as a basis for discussions surrounding equality by economists and other interested parties. The implicit context of this debate, however, is one in which all aspects of the identity of members of society remain unaltered in the process of social transformation, in which case... Continue Reading →