Heterodox Economics Newsletter

Issue 342 April 21, 2025 web pdf Heterodox Economics Directory

As heterodox economists, we are well aware that temporality and timing are key aspects in economic analysis. However, probably only a few of you are aware of the fact that the material covered in this newsletter occasionally shows specific and distinct temporal patterns. So let's reveal a thing or two about the inner rhythm of our work ;-)

For one, there are recurring seasonal patterns: In April, there are typically fewer conference calls, while invitations for Summer Schools show a steep rise. Doing justice to this surge, this issue collects several calls for highly interesting and topically diverse Summer Schools relevant for heterodox economic research and conceptualizing alternative forms of economic organization, which are all listed in the section on calls for participants (moreover, see here for an alternative educational option).

For another, we sometimes focus on temporally restricted outlier-observations representing important windows of opportunity: An example for such an item is the announcement on an experimental editorial policy of Econometrica, which now invites and allows for comments on recent articles with only minimal editorial screening and selection (see here). This experiment is dedicated to foster intensified exchange, debate, and controversy among economists and thereby provides an interesting opportunity for heterodox economists to engage with and challenge mainstream contributions.

Finally, we are – although general in outlook – not fully immune to comment on discursive trends in economics and economic policy. One such trendy topic in the last months has been US tariff policy. This topic has been addressed in recent editorials (see here and here) written before any concrete details on the implementation of Trump's tariff policy were known. While I surely did not (could not?) correctly anticipate the degree of confusion inherent in this implementation, I would assume that the erratic and arbitrary character of these tariff policies will exacerbate the potential downsides mentioned in my past rumblings – a diagnosis also emphasized by probably better qualified heterodox commentators on issues in international trade (see, e.g., here or here).* Moreover, this conveyed unreliability reinforces concerns that attacking science, civil rights, and the rule of law could prove detrimental to any economic ambitions the US might have in the future as it undermines key sources of the remaining comparative or absolute advantages of the US in international trade...

All the best,

Jakob

* To me, it is somewhat of a pity that Trump's demolition-man policy style could easily give additional credibility to a (similarly naive) mainstream view, which – following canonical models – emphasizes often-invoked doctrine of universal gains from free trade. In a similar vein, this policy currently undermines European efforts to ensure human rights and environmental preservation across global supply chains. From a heterodox perspective, one might argue that persistent technological asymmetries, the power of multinational corporations, the international financial architecture of tax evasion, and the potential disintegration of domestic markets as economies open to global competition all serve as good reason to discuss how to sensibly regulate international trade using tariffs as one traditional tool. By tying tariffs to other intuitions associated with Trump, like tyranny, confusion, and inconsistency, the former are put in a much more shady light as is justified by historically informed and differentiated analysis.

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