Class and Employment Decline

It is worth taking a closer look at the Quarterly National Household Survey results from last week. The difference between the public and private sectors has attracted some comment but there is much more going on here. In particular, the major trend that stands out is the disastrous collapse in working class employment with growing differences between the position of those with third level education and those without. The need for serious commitments in enterprise and employment policy, education and training policy, and housing/ mortgage support is clear.

BIS Annual Report

In recent years, the BIS annual report has been to the forefront in terms of accurate analysis of the global banking and financial system.  Its latest report is available here, while a summary is here.

Principles of Household Debt Restructuring

The IMF has a new Staff Position Note on the role of government intervention in improving the efficiency of household debt restructuring: you can read it here.

In Praise of the German Fiscal Law

Ashoka Mody leads the IMF’s work on Germany as well as on Ireland.  He writes in today’s FT in praise of the German fiscal law: you can read it here.

IMF Conference Call Transcript

The transcript of the conference call with Ashoka Mody is here.