INET - Institute for New Economic Thinking

According to Storm’s latest INET Working Paper, AI is built on a revenue delusion The costs of training AI models and the cost of inference are rising Scaling is very costly (AI application inference costs have grown ~ 10x) Customers are unlikely to pay enough (only 5% of OpenAI users are paying subscribers) User satisfaction w/AI tools are stagnating or declining

Servaas Storm’s latest working paper argues that the heedless projections of AI’s exponential growth — which defy logic & ignore unforgiving real-world constraints — are creating an investment bubble that will be socially and financially costly when it bursts. www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives...

Debt, Austerity, and the New EU Rules: Why Italy’s “Reform” Path Still Leads Nowhere Europe’s revamped fiscal rules promise discipline and stability, but Italy’s numbers tell a different story. Once realistic multipliers and hysteresis are built in, consolidation pushes debt up, growt...

"Once we abandon the comforting fiction that output automatically returns to “potential,” the new fiscal framework looks less like a path to sustainability & more like a mechanism for locking Italy, & much of the euro area, into a self-defeating cycle of austerity, weak growth & rising debt”-Ciccone

Debt, Austerity, and the New EU Rules: Why Italy’s “Reform” Path Still Leads Nowhere Europe’s revamped fiscal rules promise discipline and stability, but Italy’s numbers tell a different story. Once realistic multipliers and hysteresis are built in, consolidation pushes debt up, growt...

Ciccone's New INET working paper finds the new EU fiscal rules on Italy’s debt-to-GDP ratio may slow growth and undermine the sustainability of public debt. www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives...

5 Lessons from the End of the Larry Summers Era Summers’ influence was immense, but so were his blind spots. It’s time for economics that values people and the planet over power and prestige.

Larry Summers’ retreat leaves America a roadmap for what economics shouldn’t be -- and what it COULD be. Lynn Parramore investigates www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives...

International Conference on Digitalisation, Market and Society ​ International Conference on Digitalisation, Market and Society is a cross-disciplinary plenary on how digital transformation is altering work, gender norms, and social institutions—and how society can...

The International Conference on Digitalisation, Market, and Society organized by INET-YSI in collaboration with IISER Mohali and Brandeis University, Massachusetts, USA, from December 2-4, 2025. Find more about the conference here: www.ineteconomics.org/events/inter...

We can feed every child and house every family. The problem isn’t production—it’s distribution.
👉 youtu.be/DDw2yHQ8Usc 👀
Sven Beckert explores the real story of capitalism and our modern economy in his new book:
penguinrandomhouse.com/books/541160...

EconOfWar.org just won silver in the Anthem Awards🎉
Our deepest thanks to all who voted, only together can we build an economics for a brighter future!
anthemawards.com/winners/list/entry/#!education-art-culture/show-or-video/the-economics-of-war-and-peace/0/new-economic-thinking/623560

AI, Antitrust, and the Future of the Marketplace of Ideas AI was sold as a tool to broaden the marketplace of ideas. Instead, a handful of platforms now control how truth travels, shaping what we see, starving journalism, and locking new AI rivals out of the...

AI was supposed to widen the marketplace of ideas. Instead, a handful of platforms now decide how truth travels—and who gets heard. Stucke’s New INET working paper explains what happens when ‘data-opolies’ control both search and AI. www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives...

Hungry for Development: The leadership of the Global South from G20 to COP30 Since 2007, recurring food-price spikes reveal hunger as a problem of market design and underinvestment, not scarcity. With Brazil’s COP30 on the horizon, aligning climate commitments with food system...

“Volatility today is not a product of nature, but of design” Costantini & Muthayan show how decades of deregulation, speculation, & austerity built a food system that protects profits, not people & how recent G20 leaders are starting to redefine it www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives...

Elon Musk’s latest power grab: Will Tesla’s CEO become the world’s first trillion-dollar employee? Elon Musk secured shareholder approval for a new stock-based package designed to double his voting power at Tesla, potentially making him the first trillion-dollar employee. As this plan cements Musk’...

Elon Musk is, once again, taking stock. Hopkins and Lazonick outline the golden paved road that brought us to yesterday’s record-shattering stock-based “compensation” package.
www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives...

For context.
If the Titanic was made of SOLID GOLD, you could buy 13 with this wealth.

Private Data, Public Danger? How the Shutdown Poses Risks to the Entire Economy As the government shutdown drags on, official economic data has slowed to a crawl, leaving policymakers, markets, and citizens increasingly reliant on private-sector numbers. That’s a problem.

The longer the shutdown lasts, the shakier the economy’s foundation becomes. Private data is replacing official numbers. Lynn Parramore talks to experts. www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives...

Mamdani’s Win and the Price of Urban Life: Why City Voters Are Seeking Change The soaring costs of city life appear to be sending urban voters toward progressive leaders who promise relief, both in the U.S. and globally.

Zohranomics: In expensive cities: affordability issues like housing, childcare, & utilities aren’t just numbers—they’re votes. Lynn Parramore breaks it down www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives...

“Data is history.”
👉 youtu.be/zkwMstdomhc 👀
Emma Rothschild @historyecon.bsky.social on Adam Smith, climate change, and the lost conversation between disciplines.

Time is running out! Tomorrow is the last day to vote for #EconOfWar in The Anthem Awards:
👉 wbby.co/EAWNP 🙏
Economics can either fuel conflict or pave the way to lasting peace, the choice is ours.

Distribution Matters: Flawed Welfare Foundations in Classic Free Trade Arguments The argument that free trade is always the correct policy is based on a flawed welfare analysis. Free trade results in winners and losers and economists are not competent to analyze the impact on well...

When they claim to tell you free trade is better policy, look again 👀

Glick & Lozada explain why that economists' arguments for free trade arguments slide past the crucial fact that these change income distribution www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives...

The Economics of War and Peace is an Anthem Awards finalist! Have you voted yet?
wbby.co/EAWNP
You haven't watched it?? Well, here's a nice post from @umassamherst.bsky.social to learn more:
umass.edu/news/article/james-boyces-video-series-economics-war-and-peace-named-finalist-anthem-community

"If the true goal is to access the best & brightest of global talent, employers can use EB-2 National Interest Waivers to fast-track truly exceptional contributors. Retaining the H1B visa program requires an explanation, to the American public and specifically to native technical STEM talent."

Not the Fix—The Tell: The Meaning of a $100,000 H-1B Fee The new $100,000 H-1B fee tacitly acknowledges what early policy architects signaled: expanding temporary tech visas can depress domestic wages. By bringing the fully loaded cost of a new H1B hire clo...

H1-B’s fee “an overdue admission that prices matter. If policymakers pair that acknowledgement w/pay standards, real mobility, backlog relief, & a merit channel, the US can remain open to global talent while rebuilding the home-grown pipeline”- Pia Malaney www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives...

The Hidden History Fueling Tariffs, Shutdowns, and National Breakdown From political slugfests to classroom battles, historian Marc Egnal talks with INET’s Lynn Parramore about the need for a new approach to our national story.

What if everything you learned in U.S. history class was incomplete? 👀 Historian Marc Egnal calls out the myths of American exceptionalism & explains how they still shape everything from shutdowns to school debates. Check out the convo w/ Lynn Parrramore www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives...

The richest Americans control $46 trillion in wealth—but many pay little or no federal tax.
👉 youtu.be/aLKacgW6YOI 👀
@bostoncollege.bsky.social professor Ray Madoff explains how the U.S. tax code has built a new aristocracy in her new book "The Second Estate" from @uchicagopress.bsky.social

Congrats to PERI's James Boyce and INET
for being nominated by Anthem Awards for the series #EconOfWar!

"employers can use EB-2 National Interest Waivers to fast-track truly exceptional contributors. Retaining the H1B program at all requires an explanation, to the public & specifically to native technical STEM talent as to why they should not enjoy the full benefits of the bargaining table leverage"

Not the Fix—The Tell: The Meaning of a $100,000 H-1B Fee The new $100,000 H-1B fee tacitly acknowledges what early policy architects signaled: expanding temporary tech visas can depress domestic wages. By bringing the fully loaded cost of a new H1B hire clo...

Pia Malaney investigates the debate over high-skill immigration: do visas fill critical talent gaps that fuel innovation, or do they depress pay for domestic STEM workers? www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives...

A heartfelt thank you to The Anthem Awards for recognizing #EconOfWar! We’re proud to see our work honored alongside so many other inspiring projects.
🗳️ wbby.co/EAWNP 👈
Help us celebrate with your vote!

The AI Bubble and the U.S. Economy: How Long Do “Hallucinations” Last? This paper argues that (i) we have reached “peak GenAI” in terms of current Large Language Models (LLMs); scaling (building more data centers and using more chips) will not take us further to the goal...

A must-read ftom economist Servaas Storm... www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives...

Think TrumpRx will lower your drug costs? Not so fast. The real battle is taking on Pharma’s shareholder-first business model. @LynnParramore breaks it down with economist Öner Tulum
www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives...

Drug Price Wars: What Can Really Tame Big Pharma? Here’s the breakdown on what’s really driving America’s runaway drug prices -- and whether any of the current plans stand a chance to lower your pharmacy bill.

The dirty secret behind U.S. drug prices?

Your meds are expensive because Pharma’s priority isn’t health — it’s shareholders. Lynn Parramore breaks it down with economist Öner Tulum
www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives...

Current ScholarshipHistorical American Political Finance Data at the National Archives: A Preface to the INET Edition Thomas Ferguson

🚨Researching issues related to American Political Economy? Professor Thomas Ferguson's recent Working Paper provides a valuable introduction to help researchers navigate the Institute for New Economic Thinking's new database of pre-F.E.C. political finance records. Check it out! 👇

The GENIUS Act 🙄 opens the door for Big Tech firms & other commercial enterprises to conduct a crypto banking business, magnifying the risks of the current crypto bubble...