Ian McMaster's Blog

Back to Buiter

Ian McMaster — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 07:43:42 +0100

When the great man talks, it pays to listen. Or, in this case, to read. The man in question is Willem Buiter, now chief economist at Citigroup. In his previous incarnation he was the most entertaining blogger on economics. The topic: Greece and Britain.

Chef-Volkswirt

In seinem früheren Leben; hier: davor

Equity or efficiency?

Ian McMaster — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:21:06 +0100

As I have discussed before, two important concepts in economic theory are equity and efficiency. Sometimes, these two concepts seem to be in conflict with each other. But this is not always the case.

hier: Gerechtigkeit

EFA (47): Retail Prices Index

Ian McMaster — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:21:07 +0100

Inflation is a potential problem for any economy. So one of the key goals of economic policy is to keep inflation low and stable. Britain's best-known measure of inflation is the Retail Prices Index (RPI).

Volkswirtschaft

Einzelhandelspreisindex

Time to be a bastard?

Ian McMaster — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:21:05 +0100

Two days ago, I read a fascinating article that seemed to give me an important tip on how to be a good manager. The article was the latest management column by Lucy Kellaway of the Financial Times. It was clichéd nonsense.

klischeehaft, mit Klischees behaftet

EFA (46): Aggregate demand

Ian McMaster — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 00:21:06 +0100

Economics, as my pet parrot and brilliant economic advisor Maynard knows all too well, is all about supply and demand. And “aggregate demand” is the subject of the 46th item in our series, Economics for Amateurs (EFA).

Haus-Papagei

Berater(in)

gesamtwirtschaftliche Nachfrage

hier: Folge

Two cheers for Greece?

Ian McMaster — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 08:24:08 +0100

This might seem like an absurd idea in the current situation, but maybe the EU — or, to be more precise, the eurozone — should be grateful to Greece for the mess it has got into with its public finances. The news is not all bad after all.

Chaos

I don't believe you

Ian McMaster — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:21:07 +0100

Sometimes, I simply cannot believe my ears. I guess we all have this feeling from time to time, but it never fails to amaze me when I hear people talking nonsense about economics — particularly those who should know better.

erstaunen

Volkswirtschaft(slehre)

EFA (45): Exit strategies

Ian McMaster — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:21:06 +0100

Over the past year, the term exit strategy has entered the vocabulary of economics. But what exactly is such a strategy? This is the topic of the 45th item in our regular Economics for Amateurs (EFA) series.

Rückzugsstrategie

Volkswirtschaft(slehre)

Thema

hier: Folge

Good to talk — but difficult!

Ian McMaster — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:21:06 +0100

In recent years, there have been two strong themes within the world of business English: a move towards English for Specific Purposes (ESP), and recognition of the fact that native speakers are often poor communicators.

Muttersprachler(innen)

Good and bad service

Ian McMaster — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:21:07 +0100

I’d like to share with you two examples of customer service I experienced recently. I am not claiming that the examples are typical of the companies involved or anything unusual. I just found the contrast fascinating.

Kundendienst

behaupten