Tuesday 18 August 2015

To Corbyn's Credit


The recent statement from Jeremy Corbyn that "austerity is a policy choice not economic necessity" provides a welcome return to serious discussion in the Labour leadership debate.

Therefore, the assertions that Corbyn is a “danger” who is causing harm to the Labour Party and the public in general is quite surprising and inappropriate  (for example, see FT View 15 August, that Mr Corbyn's candidacy brings "potential harm to...British public life").

Many of Corbyn's policies are advocated by prominent economists and commentators. An example is his proposal to fund public investment by the sale of bonds to the Bank of England.

Yet, until now, politicians competing to hold the centre ground have largely ignored such policies or cast them as unthinkable.

Corbyn's proposals should be welcomed even by his opponents for stimulating serious discussion of crucial issues such as the role of the public sector in investment, management of debt and money, and how to tackle inequality.

It is to Corbyn's credit that he has broadened the policy discussion so that the shared assumptions behind the narrow range of policies advocated by both  the Conservative government and the other Labour leadership candidates are now being debated.

Signed by the following teachers and researchers in economics:

Victoria Chick, University College London 
Susan Himmelweit, Open University
Malcolm Sawyer, University of Leeds 
Annina Kaltenbrunner, University of Leeds 
Gary Dymski, University of Leeds Ruth Pearson, University of Leeds 
Hugo Radice, University of Leeds 
Ann Pettifor, Prime Economics 
Jeremy Smith, Prime Economics 
Steve Keen, Kingston University 
Eva Karwowski, Kingston University 
Engelbert Stockhammer, Kingston University 
Alfredo Saad, SOAS 
Guy Standing SOAS 
John Weeks, SOAS 
Carlos Oya, SOAS 
George Irvin, SOAS 
Ioana Negru, SOAS 
Chris Cramer, SOAS 
Jo Michell, University of the West of England 
Susan Newman, University of the West of England 
Daniela Gabor, University of the West of England 
Andrew Mearman, University of the West of England 
Ozlem Onaran, University of Greenwich 
Jeff Powell, University of Greenwich 
Mehmet Ugur, University of Greenwich 
Giovanni Cozzi, University of Greenwich 
Maria Nikolaidi, University of Greenwich 
Simon Mohun, Queen Mary University 
Neil Lancastle, DeMontfort University 
James Meadway, City University 
John Grahl, Middlesex University
Rhys Jenkins, University of East Anglia

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