Economics Archives

The Fight Against the “Evils” of Developmentalism

What is developmentalism? Which economic groups does developmentalism benefit? Why did corporations try to overthrow developmentalist policies? Developmentalism is an economic school of thought which states that the best way for developing countries to speed up their growth is by developing their internal markets, limiting imports, and nationalizing certain industries. Developmentalism has had a tremendous impact on the growth of many Third World countries. However, the policies that helped the common people were hurting the rich and powerful. In this article, you’ll learn about economic developmentalism, and corporations’ efforts to fight back against “its evils.”

Canada’s 1993 Debt Crisis: The Lie Exposed Too Late

Was Canada’s 1993 debt really as disastrous as the media claimed? Why did the media lie about Canada’s federal debt? In 1993, Canada was nearing a debt crisis—or so the media claimed. The overall message was that Canada was spending far more money than it could afford to. If this overspending continued, the media claimed, Wall Street would soon lower Canada’s credit rating. If that happened, wealthy investors would take their money somewhere safer. As it turned out, Canada’s debt crisis was a lie manufactured with a goal in mind.

How the Falklands War Brought Neoliberalism to the UK

How did the UK adopt a neoliberal economy? Why did it take longer for Britain to implement neoliberal policies? Although neoliberalism spread quickly and brutally through South America, it had a harder time gaining traction in Britain. There was an insurmountable conflict between free-market capitalism and democracy. Because neoliberal policies would hurt the majority of the people, they’d never vote for politicians who tried to implement them. Things changed when a seemingly insignificant military conflict altered the course of economics. In this article, you’ll learn about the arrival of neoliberalism in the UK.

Naomi Klein: Disaster Capitalism Is Fueled by Violence

What is disaster capitalism? What is the connection between violence and capitalism? According to Naomi Klein, disaster capitalism can’t exist without widespread state violence. At the same time, those two things are largely disconnected in people’s minds. The reason for this is that free-market economists did all they could to separate their theories from the cruel methods used to implement them. In this article, Klein explains the role of violence and repression in instituting free-market capitalism.

The Spread of Neoliberalism in Argentina

How did Argentina become a neoliberal economy? How did neoliberalism affected the country’s economy? Argentina’s implementation of neoliberalism was rather brutal and horrific, much like earlier in Chile. The results were just as brutal: runaway inflation, soaring unemployment, starvation, and disease. Here is how Argentina adopted neoliberalism.

Poland’s Shock Therapy: Did It Work as Intended?

Who instituted Poland’s shock therapy? How did the shock therapy affect the Polish economy? In Poland, shock therapy was implemented on the advice of Jeffrey Sachs who was working as an advisor for the Solidarity party. The Solidarity was reluctant to institute policies that went directly against the worker-centric economy they’d promised to create. But the economy was in a critical state, so they went ahead with Sachs’s proposal in exchange for foreign aid. In this article, we’ll take a look at Poland’s shock therapy, and what happened in its aftermath.

Russia’s Shock Therapy: Neoliberalizing Russia

Who instituted Russia’s shock therapy? How did economic shock therapy affect the Russian economy? In Russia, shock therapy didn’t have the promised results. Yeltsin swore that there would be around six bad months, but by the end of his year of emergency powers, Russia would recover and be a world superpower again. However, a year later, millions of Russians had lost their life savings and a full third of the people had fallen into poverty. In this article, you’ll learn how shock therapy unfolded in Russia, and what happened in its aftermath.

Shock and Awe: Iraq War Economics

What is Shock and Awe? What was the reason the United States invaded Iraq in 2003? The term “Shock and Awe” is typically used to refer to the 2003 United States invasion of Iraq under George Bush’s administration. Bush sold the project to Americans with a simple promise that they were bringing freedom to a troubled area. Many mistook this for a promise of free and fair democracy. However, the real objective was to create the freedom for private companies to harvest as much of the country’s wealth and resources as possible. In this article, we’ll discuss the real motives

Why the Asian Tigers’ Economies Collapsed in the 90s

How did the Asian Tigers’ economies grow so fast? What development strategies did they employ to spearhead their economic growth? And why did their economies start to collapse in the 1990s? Some economists attribute the growth of the Asian Tigers to unrestricted free markets. However, the Tigers owed their growth to heavy government intervention, and strict policies preventing foreigners from owning land or national firms. The trouble began when an unsubstantiated rumor spread that Thailand couldn’t sustain its currency, which triggered a chain of domino reactions that led to the near-collapse of the Asian Tigers’ economies. In this article, we’ll

I Will Teach You to Be Rich: Book Overview

What is I Will Teach You to Be Rich about? What are the key points of Ramit Sethi’s money advice? In his book I Will Teach You to Be Rich, self-taught expert in personal finance Ramit Sethi distills the basics of personal money management. You’ll learn how to use credit cards wisely, choose the right bank accounts and investment accounts, plan out your spending, and ultimately create a financial system that grows your money automatically. Below is a brief overview of the key points.