Third time’s a charm. Following on from two previous posts (here and here), tracking the stat-bending the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council was engaged in, we can now put that issue to rest.  The Fiscal Council has finally published a correction and with it has published a third version of their first report.  Now the crucial section reads:
‘Even though [...]

L’Humanite interview with Monique Pinçon-Charlot: “the rich have a money addiction that must be treated”
For sociologist Monique Pinçon-Charlot, the campaign against public deficits is an ideological weapon being used by neoliberals to do away with social rights all over the world.
Among the budgetary proposals to be discussed by the French government is a move [...]

There may be all sorts of reasons to cut public services, but reducing the fiscal deficit is not one of them. I repeat: we can cut the number of public sector employees - but it will have only a trivial effect on the fiscal deficit. It will, however, do [...]

Last Friday afternoon the Irish Independent published a story about a potential Greek-style EFSF-IMF bailout for Ireland which seems to have been based entirely on the section in the Barclay’s report that first made the suggestion the previous day. As reported in the Irish Times:
“If there are additional financial sector losses or the economy worsens, [...]

Simon Johnson and Peter Boone are writing in the New York Times‘ Econmix blog about Ireland again.
Johnson is, of course, a former Chief Economist of the IMF, an institution that has largely endorsed Ireland’s austerity measures and suggests more may be needed.
However, Johnson and Boone’s comments are that current government policy isn’t working, and this [...]

According to Brian Cowen today, NTMA’s Oliver Whelan has “made it very clear that we are seen as a stable economy, forging ahead with taking decisions.” This was said in relation to Moody’s decision to downgrade Irish debt to Aa2 from Aa1. So, while rating agencies carry the usual health warning considering their part in [...]

The CSO has just published the first quarter National Accounts.  If you want to avoid the spin go straight to Michael Burke’s cogent analysis on Progressive-Economy.  Here I just want to look at one long-term development - a very concerning trend relating to the very structure of the Irish economy; namely, the growing gap between [...]

Ah, a phrase we will be hearing throughout the next few weeks of wonderful, joyous (albeit, Ireland-less) World Cup football. It’s also an apt phrase for the reporting of economic reviews. IBEC has produced its quarterly commentary and the media was full of green-shoots:
‘Ibec has revised upwards its economic forecasts for 2010 and 2011 . [...]

Why did I think the Ernst & Young forecasts wouldn’t make big news? Did I really imagine that its key projections on the deficit and employment would provide a sobering counter-point to all the ‘whistling past the economic graveyard’ commentary we get everyday. Yet, the analysis is worth poring over in detail, not because E&Y [...]

Monday night’s Frontline discussion was an object lesson in how to miss the point - a really big point in a really big way. In discussing spending cuts we were treated to all sorts of suggestions - from getting rid of Minister’s drivers to shaving departmental estimates; all with a view to saving a few [...]