Rating agencies remain in the spotlight and they seemingly can never make anyone happy: when they junk or downgrade countries, it obviously hurts, when they fail to do just that, they get blamed for not warning the world to the looming economic crisis. A recent commentary in the Financial Times (and the above illustration) is clearly pointing the finger at them.
PERG, however, had the privilege to listen to a more nuanced take: Zsofia Barta (EUI) presented her research on how rating agencies determine the creditworthiness of a country. More details on the PERG website.
Jan 24, 2012
Rating the Rating Agencies
Jan 19, 2012
On Kiev's Black Money Markets
PERG's very own Vera Asenova discovers how restricted markets can still lead to an increase in Pareto efficiency... well, through the good old black market. Read more about her money exchange adventures in Kiev, Ukraine on her blog.
(Reuters) People waiting for Vera to approach them with euros, in front of a Kiev exchange.
Nov 28, 2011
Animated Capitalism
CUNY professor, David Harvey's Marxist-inspired take on 'Crises of Capitalism'.
Slovenian philosopher and critical theorist, Slavoj Zizek's illustrated lecture on 'Capitalism and Charity' and why he thinks George Soros is old fashioned.
Oct 25, 2011
'TED Eye-Opening' Talks for PolSci Students
TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design), is now offering what they call '12 Eye-Opening TED Talks for Political Science Students' on their website on varied topics, including sub-Saharan Africa, voter apathy, and ethnic conflicts. You can also find economics and development related talks, amongst many others, on their website. TED was launched as a conference series in 1984 and is commited to spreading ideas.
Read more on 'TED Eye-Opening' Talks for PolSci StudentsOct 7, 2011
FT: Visegrad Four are Less Vulnerable to Crisis
A 'Special Report' on the Visegrad countries in Friday's Financial Times argues that the region is less vulnerable and may be in a better position to 'deal with problems' than many eurozone countries. Articles also touch upon the difficulty of moving from emerging to developed economy and the limitations of FDI-based development without an increase in R&D spending and improving education. Plus, everything you wanted to know about Czech viticulture...
Read more on FT: Visegrad Four are Less Vulnerable to CrisisOct 5, 2011
Turning Britain into a CME
Could a Liberal Market Economy (LME) become a Coordinated Market Economy (CME)? Ed Miliband, leader of Britain's Labour Party seems to think so. On 27 September, at his party's annual conference Mr. Miliband is reported to have set out his vision for implementing a Rhineland variety of capitalism in Britain, rewarding production over speculation and services, and introduce corporatist elements to capital and labour relations. A fairly hostile take on this in the Economist is attached below. In any case, this will not happen any time soon: the plan envisages 20 years of transition and the next elections may only take place in 2014 or 2015...
Economist
http://www.economist.com/node/21530975
Mar 29, 2011
PERG Post-Doctoral Fellowship: Political Economy of Global Finance
The Political Economy Research Group (PERG) at Central European University (CEU) invites applications for a two-year post-doctoral fellowship on the “Political Economy of Global Finance” to begin in the fall of 2011.
Starting date: Fall of 2011
Application deadline: May 2, 2011 at 17:00
Description of fellowship
The ongoing global financial crisis has demonstrated a clear need to revise established paradigms in comparative political economy. In particular, dominant approaches in this field have underestimated the degree of “financialization,” that is the predominance of financial markets, motives, institutions, and elites in the operation and governance of the economy in all forms of capitalism. Therefore PERG seeks a post-doctoral researcher with a specialty in the international political economy of global finance, financial development, or related topics.
In addition to working on his or her research and publication agenda, the post-doctoral fellow will be expected to attend and actively engage in PERG seminar meetings, participate in collaborative research projects with PERG members, give a public lecture at CEU, and contribute to the organization of lectures or a workshop with renowned scholars in the field. If interested, the fellow will also have the opportunity to engage in research seminars at multiple departments and potentially teach a course.
About CEU and PERG
Central European University (CEU) is a graduate research-intensive university specializing primarily in the social sciences. It is located in Budapest, and accredited in the United States and Hungary. CEU’s mission is to promote academic excellence, state-of-the-art research, and civic engagement, in order to contribute to the development of open societies in Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, and other emerging democracies throughout the world. CEU offers both Master’s and doctoral programs, and enrolls more than 1500 students from nearly 100 countries. The teaching staff consists of more than 140 resident faculty, from over 40 countries, and a large number of prominent visiting scholars from around the world. The language of instruction is English.
PERG (http://perg.ceu.hu) is a highly active, collaborative research group of CEU doctoral students and faculty from four departments - Political Science, International Relations and European Studies, Public Policy, and Economics - working in the area of political economy. The post-doctoral fellow will benefit from engaging in a very active and motivating community of senior and junior researchers that is focused on providing feedback on colleagues’ work and engaging in collaborative research. The research profile of PERG members includes many dimensions of political economy, such as labor markets, social mobilization, migration, fiscal and social policy, and transnational capitalism. The fellow may also utilize PERG’s contacts and networks within and beyond CEU that relate to the Political Economy of Global Finance.
Conditions
The two-year position is created within the framework of the “CEU 20th Anniversary Postdoctoral Fellowships” to commemorate 20 years of academic activity at CEU. The successful candidate will receive a competitive stipend and will be eligible for a health plan.
How to apply?
The application package should consist of a single PDF file with
• a short letter of motivation stating the candidate’s qualifications and reasons for interest in the fellowship,
• a research proposal outlining current and future research (2-3 pages),
• a CV,
• the contact information of three references (including e-mail, phone number, mailing address, and relationship to the applicant), and
• one writing sample (published article, work-in progress, or a dissertation chapter).
Informal enquiries may be addressed to perg@ceu.hu.
Please send your complete application package to:
advert@ceu.hu - including job code in subject line: 2011/023
CEU is an equal opportunity employer.
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