Good Quote

“Under capitalism the common man enjoys amenities which in ages gone by were unknown and therefore inaccessible even to the richest people. 

But, of course, these motorcars, television sets and refrigerators do not make a man happy. 

In the instant in which he acquires them, he may feel happier than he did before. 

But as soon as some of his wishes are satisfied, new wishes spring up. Such is human nature.”
― Ludwig Von Mises,

Theory of Coordination

One of the interesting theories of development economics is the Theory of Coordination.

It explains the lack of economic development in terms of coordination failure.

In simple terms, firms would like to be where there are workers and infrastructure; workers want to be in places where firms are already offering good jobs. 

Neither will go where the other is not! 

A typical chicken and egg problem? 

It calls for coordination.

…….. role of the government? planning?

How Do You Become a Good Economist?

Answer 5. 

Follow economics news. 

The best weekly is The Economist. 

The best daily is the Wall Street Journal in the US, Financial times in the UK, Business Standard, The Mint in India.

Good Quote

“Anyone who believes that exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world is either a madman or an economist.”
― Kenneth Boulding

Technocrats - Exit?

Many economists and lay people are increasingly disenchanted with the world Bank and the IMF. 

At the core of these institutions has been macroeconomics and the assumption that complex economic decisions should be taken free of political influence. 

But let's face it - decisions in the real world cannot be delinked from reality which is largely influenced by the politics of the day.

The economy is dynamic and complex. 

It is difficult to manage. 

Come economic crises or chronic stagnation and then the expertise of "humans" becomes valuable. 

Technocrats in such times seem cold and delinked from reality.

It is thus that the IMF and World Bank may be less revered on the world stage. 

This is also the case because there are now other competitive institutions in various regions of the world who want to further their geopolitical ambitions.

How Do You Become a Good Economist?

Answer 4. 

Read economics for fun in your spare time. 

To get you started, here is a list of recommended readings. by Greg Mankiw.

• Milton Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom
• Robert Heilbroner, The Worldly Philosophers
• Paul Krugman, Peddling Prosperity
• Steven Landsburg, The Armchair Economist
• P.J. O'Rourke, Eat the Rich
• Burton Malkiel, A Random Walk Down Wall Street
• Avinash Dixit and Barry Nalebuff, Thinking Strategically
• Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, Freakonomics
• John McMillan, Reinventing the Bazaar
• William Breit and Barry T. Hirsch, Lives of the Laureates

Good Quote

“Our faith in freedom does not rest on the foreseeable results in particular circumstances but on the belief that it will, 

on balance, release more forces for the good than for the bad.”
― Friedrich A. Hayek

New Trends ...Permaculture

Traditional agriculture is notorious for not supporting other life forms.

Permaculture works on the principle that the less you interfere with nature the better. 

These farmers let their plants evolve into forests, even welcome insects and small animals.

Operational details:

• A permaculture plot can be as small as a single acre or as large as a forest. The guiding principles remain the same.
• Tall, hardy trees form an outer perimeter. Trees with large canopies, like mango, are planted here and there to offer shade to the shrubs.
• The shrubs are typically perennials like lemongrass, tulsi, kadipatta and drumstick, which offer diversity and contribute to mulch.
• The inner zones are designed to grow nutrient-intensive cash crops like maize along with legumes like beans, which provide nitrogen to enrich the soil.
• There are further zones for aquaculture, poultry and bee-keeping.

To the untrained eye, a permaculture farm may look like a patch of wilderness in a neglected backyard. When it looks like that, you know it’s working!

The idea is to switch from the slash-and-burn model of agriculture to a gentler, more permanent formula where fruit trees shade vegetable patches, perennial plants grow, are picked and plucked from, perish, form mulch, feed other plants, and start over. Where birds can eventually make their homes —  where bees and insects thrive, and eventually small animals arrive to nibble or hunt. Where Man has only a passing influence.

Read more:

https://www.hindustantimes.com/more-lifestyle/meet-the-people-growing-food-forests-in-their-backyards/story-GzCJFhn66sooNePVyv3P1J.html

https://permacultureprinciples.com/

How Do You Become a good Economist?

Answer 3. 

Use your summers to experience economics from different perspectives. 

Spend one working as a research assistant for a professor, 

one working in a policy job in government, 

and one working in the private sector.

1 February 2019 - An Interim Budget

An interim budget, just like a full-year budget, is an annual financial statement of a government's finances. 

It contains key details such as where money comes from (revenue) and where it is spent (expenditure), as well as projections of growth and fiscal position. 

However, unlike a full-year budget, an interim budget covers a smaller period of time, usually few months. 

An interim budget is created by an incumbent government before election. 

This year, the general election - to elect a central government - is due by May, thus an interim budget.

Good Quote

“People.. were poor not because they were stupid or lazy. 

They worked all day long, doing complex physical tasks. 

They were poor because the financial institution in the country did not help them widen their economic base.”
― Muhammad Yunus, 

Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty

How do you become a good economist?

Answer 2. 

Choose your economics courses from professors who are passionate about the field and care about teaching. 

Ignore the particular topics covered when choosing courses. 

All parts of economics can be made interesting, or deadly dull, depending on the instructor.

The investment craze - ICOs

For the last two years bitcoins and their ilk have dominated news, in particular financial news around the world.

So now we have a new concept. Initial coin offerings (ICOs). Are these financial innovations or reckless speculation?

An ICO does not get you equity in the firm concerned. 

An ICO is essentially a ledger entry. You can buy an entry (not in all countries); in a computer ledger issued by a start up company on the basis of an unregulated prospectus. 

An ICO is a way of raising capital without all the hassles of meeting regulatory requirements or the burden of paying interest to a banker.

Businesses are able to raise this way because investors hope that the coins will rise in value just like bitcoins. 

But the latter are different. 

Bitcoins are a form of digital currency that can be used in a variety of transactions.

The technology that underpins digital currencies is the blockchain technology. 

The blockchain is a secure decentralised ledger that everyone can inspect but no single user can control it.

Financial innovation or reckless speculation? Time will tell!