James Galbraith: INFLATION, SANCTIONS AND INDUSTRIAL POLICY

Robert Misik in conversation with James Galbraith
INFLATION, SANCTIONS AND INDUSTRIAL POLICY
Thoughts on the Disorder in Economic Thought
James K. Galbraith, one of the leading left-wing American economists, examines the economic policy debates in the USA and Europe: inflation has led to real wage losses in Europe, but also to rising costs for companies, particularly in industry. However, the USA has been quicker to get inflation under control and, with the Biden administration’s “Inflation Reduction Act”, has put together a package of investments in infrastructure as well as subsidies for ecological transformation. But is this the new form of industrial policy that is needed? Galbraith is skeptical.
In Europe, on the other hand, the spectre of “de-industrialization” is already being raised, not least due to the rise in energy prices and production costs in general. How can the European economy respond to this? The programs to date are little more than a drop in the ocean. What needs to be done to achieve a prosperous economy that lifts all boats, not just the luxury yachts? Justice, innovation and ecological transformation - do they go together?
James Galbraith is an American economist. He is currently a professor at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs and at the Department of Government, University of Texas at Austin. He is also a Senior Scholar with the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College and part of the executive committee of the World Economics Association, created in 2011.
Robert Misik, Author and Journalist
Recorded at Kreisky Forum on June 10, 2024
Technical production: Milan Loewy