Economics in Action

Image copyright of K R Ranjith (flickr)

One of Economics’ strongest exports was the economist Adam Smith.

In his book “The Wealth of Nations” Smith made the seemingly paradoxical claim that if people follow their own self interest, this will have the remarkable effect of increasing the overall benefit too society. This seemingly simple principle unfortunately took Adam Smith 1,260 pages to say. (Unfortunately very few economists have ever learnt the art of being concise.)

Adam Smith has become synonymous with free market economics. However, people often forget this Scottish intellectual
was primarily a professor of moral philosophy at Glasgow University.

At any rate this contradictory yet accurate argument about the free market remains the centre of all major debates in economics.

Is unbridled free-market Capitalism really the best economic system?

Even the most ardent free market economist cannot ignore the fact capitalism creates inequality and if you just look around this inequality is painfully evident. Thus many economists came along to challenge the free market ideologies of Adam Smith.

This takes us to our next great economist- Karl Marx

While loans to poorer people are at the root of a financial crisis here in the West, Tina Goodman, a Masters student in International Economics and Finance at the University of Queensland, Australia, is seeing how loans to the poor in West Bengal are helping people out of poverty.

West Bengal is an eastern state in India with a population of around 82 million, the fourth most populated state in the eastern region of India. Tina is finding out about microfinance and the effects it has on individuals and communities. She is also looking at development issues within India and successful policies that have been advocated by economists.

While in India, Tina has been filming her discoveries and experiences. You will be able to view this film on this site when she returns in December; meanwhile, you can follow her journey through her blog.

Mohammad Yunus is a great believer of microfinance and its strengths. In 2006 he shared the Nobel Peace Prize with the Grameen Bank due to his pioneering ideas. He was the founder of the Bank which has ‘reversed the conventional banking system by removing the need for collateral and creating a banking system based on mutual trust, accountability, participation and creativity.’ (Grameen Bank)

For further reading see the Nobel Peace Prize 2006

With food prices very much in the news, and price rises causing unrest in vulnerable countries, FT.com provides a couple of interactive guides: “The Global Food Crisis” gives an overview in the form of clickable maps, and “Why are food prices rising?” explains some of the contributing factors with video clips.

The Economist is running a feature article on how the world is, gradually and unevenly, becoming more prosperous and peaceful. Yes, wars and genocides are happening right now. Yes, huge numbers live in extreme poverty and millions of children die each year from preventable disease. However, the figures brought together in this article show that, while those things are horrible, far fewer people are experiencing them than in previous decades. Public health, birth control, immigration and Middle East conflict are among the issues touched on.

The real challenge of development is the bottom billion the people living in 50 or so countries, mainly in Africa, that are falling behind and often falling apart. But increased aid and freer trade will make only a marginal difference to these people’s lives until they enjoy greater security and that means military interventions by the rich countries to end civil wars, prevent conflicts from restarting and provide peacekeeping forces in support of long-term economic solutions.

These were the central messages of Professor Paul Collier when he delivered the 2006 Royal Economic Society Annual Public Lecture ‘ War and Peace in Africa’ at the Wigmore Hall in London on Friday 1 December.

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How can we help the developing countries of Africa? This three-minute BBC radio interview (RealPlayer required) features an interesting take on the issue from Paul Collier, an Oxford Professor of Economics.

Collier points out that Africa has some fragile democracies which are at real risk of falling to a military coup or descending into civil war. The security that comes from stable government makes it more feasible to escape the cycle of poverty. Hence the rich European countries could help by supplying some of their military power, if backed with a legitimate authority.

Muhammad Yunus and the bank he founded to help the poorest Bangladeshis out of poverty have been awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize “for their efforts to create economic and social development from below”.

Yunus pioneered microfinance; small loans made to people whom traditional banks would ignore as too high-risk. Talking to the BBC, he responded, “As a Bangladeshi, I’m proud that we have given something to the world. Our work has now been recognised by the whole world.” Several links found via MetaFilter.