Other News
Understanding the Confidence Fairy in Markets, Debt, and Economic Theory
A Pinpoint Politics article by Brendan Pastor
When Paul Krugman coined the term confidence fairy, he meant it as a pedantic critique of UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s austerity agenda. The cuts that were administered to the welfare systems were driven by a need to reduce the deficit – the existence of which hampered market confidence in Britain’s economy, or so was argued. Of course, Krugman attacked this logic through economics (some of which is disputed even by his supporters), implicitly making use of his Nobel Prize to substantiate his argument. But he was definitely on to something. Although not the first to do so, he was certainly the most important voice drawing our attention to the perpetual use of the word confidence to justify a political and economic policy – one with implications that have been felt across the world.
PAIS student Andrew Terrell scheduled to speak at Solve2012 Policy Expo
In Memoriam: Roger Duclaud-Williams
The University is saddened to report that former Politics and International Studies Lecturer, and later Principal Teaching Fellow, Dr Roger Duclaud-Williams died on 13 June.
Roger took his first degree in Law at the University of Oxford and subsequently studied Political Science at the City University of New York. He received his PhD from the University of Sussex. After a temporary post at the University of Glasgow, he was appointed to the Department of Politics and International Studies at Warwick in 1974. He retired from Warwick in 2011.
Read an obituary for Roger written by David Mervin in The Guardian here
Greece's upcoming June election: The implications of a possible 'Grexit'
A Pinpoint Politics article by Martina Čičáková
Greece, a country referred to as the ancient cradle of democracy, is now standing before a decision crucial for the future of Europe. The two options between which the Greek people need to decide are both problematic in their seeming simplicity: either the continuance of the “draconian” austerity measures or a so-called “Grexit”, a term coined by Citigroup economists Willem Buiter and Ebrahim Rahbari referring to Greece’s exit from the EU. The second round of the Greek parliamentary election which will take place on June 17th is widely perceived as “the referendum on the euro,” since the results are going to influence not only Greece’s performance as a European Union (EU) member, but also the future of the currency and the other Eurozone countries.
HAS 24-HOUR NEWS KILLED PRINT MEDIA?
A KnowledgeCentre article by Prof Wyn Grant
This month CNN celebrates 32 years since it revolutionised television with the introduction of 24-hour news coverage. In news terms, social networks have largely taken the place of television, but has instant access to stories really been a positive thing for journalism? Prof Wyn Grant explores the 24-hour news phenomenon and asks whether print journalism may still have an important role to play in democracy.