Predictably futile

have been my attempts to convince a German economist that excessive saving may be an economic problem. Read the transcript in German magazine Wirtschaftswoche (in German).

Austerität - Politik der Sparsamkeit: Die kurze Geschichte eines großen Fehlers

The German edition of "Austerity the great failure" will be launched at Frankfurt Bookfair this week-end. There will be a discussion about the book with Ralf Stegner, vice president of SPD. It's at the fair at

Vorwärts Stand on Sat 11 Oct at 13h30.

Details about the event are here and about the book here.

Heartland of austerity?

Angela Merkel is sometimes accused of belonging to the 'Swabian house wife' school of economics. (For readers not familiar with regional stereotyping in Germany: Swabians are often depicted as excessively frugal.). However, it seems that real Swabians are a lot more open to critical perspectives on frugality. Local SWR radio did this review cum interview of the German edition of Austerity.

The good consumer

To revive the global economy and make society more equal we should all consume more not less. How is this possible without ruining the planet and corrupting our souls?

My thoughts on the answer are here in an article for Aeon Magazine.

Radio interview about European austerity

An interview with German radio station Deutschlandfunk. Listen here (in German).

European austerity was a failure but what comes next may be even worse

I wrote a short opinion piece about Renzi and the plans to soften the austerity measures imposed on the European crisis countries. Read it here. 

Economist on 'Austerity'

Some people tell me they are having trouble finding the Economist's review of 'Austerity: the great failure'. It's here.