Thanks for this James, it's great. And I very much agree with your point on ecological crises and inflationary pressure. Some colleagues and I have been working on the macroeconomics of degrowth, and price stability in a degrowth transition. Our policy prescription is similar to what you note, although we don't advocate for a UBI. Rather, a green job guarantee (also a great tool to set a standard for working time reduction) alongside taxation policy and qualitative credit regulation to "degrow" environmentally (e.g. fossil fuels) and socially (e.g. fast fashion, advertising) detrimental sectors. A key point on ensuring price stability from the degrowth perspective is moving towards decommodifying access to key needs satisfiers - thus ensuring access to them, which is the reason price stability matters at all. Building out universal public services is the strongest way to do this.
I'll share a couple links below. It would be fantastic to hear your thoughts.
Thanks James, that's an excellent overview. I liked the use of Lakatos there and also the whole emphasis on ecological and geopolitical shocks, which now more than ever undermine conventional economic thinking. Of course the Meadows team's work from the 70s (and its test by time) also point in the same way. I'd be interested to hear more about the alternative macroeconomic management tools that are needed - Jo Michell's suggestion is a start but hardly a comprehensive toolkit.
Thanks for this James, it's great. And I very much agree with your point on ecological crises and inflationary pressure. Some colleagues and I have been working on the macroeconomics of degrowth, and price stability in a degrowth transition. Our policy prescription is similar to what you note, although we don't advocate for a UBI. Rather, a green job guarantee (also a great tool to set a standard for working time reduction) alongside taxation policy and qualitative credit regulation to "degrow" environmentally (e.g. fossil fuels) and socially (e.g. fast fashion, advertising) detrimental sectors. A key point on ensuring price stability from the degrowth perspective is moving towards decommodifying access to key needs satisfiers - thus ensuring access to them, which is the reason price stability matters at all. Building out universal public services is the strongest way to do this.
I'll share a couple links below. It would be fantastic to hear your thoughts.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800923002318
https://www.newstatesman.com/spotlight/economic-growth/cost-of-living-crisis/2023/01/state-end-cost-of-living-crisis-climate-change
Thanks James, that's an excellent overview. I liked the use of Lakatos there and also the whole emphasis on ecological and geopolitical shocks, which now more than ever undermine conventional economic thinking. Of course the Meadows team's work from the 70s (and its test by time) also point in the same way. I'd be interested to hear more about the alternative macroeconomic management tools that are needed - Jo Michell's suggestion is a start but hardly a comprehensive toolkit.