Education
In 1982, he obtained a master"s degree at the London School of Economics, followed in 1986 by a Doctor of Philosophy at Birkbeck College, University of London.
(First, there was the credit crunch, and governments aroun...)
First, there was the credit crunch, and governments around the world stepped in to bail out the banks. The sequel to that debacle is the sovereign debt crisis, which has hit the eurozone hard. The hour has come to pay the piper, and ordinary citizens across Europe are growing to realize that socialism for the wealthy means punching a few new holes in their already-tightened belts. Building on his work as a leading member of the renowned Research on Money and Finance group, Costas Lapavitsas argues that European austerity is counterproductive. Cutbacks in public spending will mean a longer, deeper recession, worsen the burden of debt, further imperil banks, and may soon spell the end of monetary union itself. Crisis in the Eurozone charts a cautious path between political economy and radical economics to envisage a restructuring reliant on the forces of organized labour and civil society. The clear-headed rationalism at the heart of this book conveys a controversial message, unwelcome in many quarters but soon to be echoed across the continent: impoverished states have to quit the euro and cut their losses or worse hardship will ensue.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1844679691/?tag=2022091-20
(A radical anti-capitalist alternative to Eurozone austeri...)
A radical anti-capitalist alternative to Eurozone austerity On the 25th January 2015 the Greek people voted in an election of historic importance—not just for Greece but potentially all of Europe. The radical party Syriza was elected and austerity and the neoliberal agenda is being challenged. Suddenly it seems as if there is an alternative. But what? The Eurozone is in a deep and prolonged crisis. It is now clear that monetary union is a historic failure, beyond repair—and certainly not in the interests of Europe’s working people. Building on the economic analysis of two of Europe’s leading thinkers, Heiner Flassbeck and Costas Lapavitsas (a candidate standing for election on Syriza’s list), Against the Troika is the first book to propose a strategic left-wing plan for how peripheral countries could exit the euro. With a change in government in Greece, and looming political transformations in countries such as Spain, this major intervention lays out a radical, anti-capitalist programme at a critical juncture for Europe. The final three chapters offer a detailed postmortem of the Greek catastrophe, explain what can be learned from it—and provide a possible alternative. Against the Troika is a practical blueprint for real change in a continent wracked by crisis and austerity.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1784783137/?tag=2022091-20
(Financialization is one of the most innovative concepts t...)
Financialization is one of the most innovative concepts to emerge in the field of political economy during the last three decades, although there is no agreement on what exactly it is. Profiting Without Producing puts forth a distinctive view defining financialization in terms of the fundamental conduct of non-financial enterprises, banks and households. Its most prominent feature is the rise of financial profit, in part extracted from households through financial expropriation. Financialized capitalism is also prone to crises, none greater than the gigantic turmoil that began in 2007. Using abundant empirical data, the book establishes the causes of the crisis and discusses the options broadly available for controlling finance.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1781681414/?tag=2022091-20
In 1982, he obtained a master"s degree at the London School of Economics, followed in 1986 by a Doctor of Philosophy at Birkbeck College, University of London.
Since 1999 he has taught Economics at the School of Oriental and African Studies, first as a lecturer, and since 2008 as a professor Costas Lapavitsas is known for his criticism of the modern Western financial system, particularly the Greek government-debt crisis, the European debt crisis and the European Union. He is also a columnist for the British newspaper The Guardian.
As early as 2011, Lapavitsas, as well as some other Greek economists, has been highly eurosceptic, advocating for Greece abandoning the euro and returning to its former national currency, the drachma, as a response to the Greek government-debt crisis.
On 2 March 2015 Lapavitsas wrote in the Guardian that releasing Greek people from austerity and simultaneously avoiding a major falling-out with the eurozone is an impossible task for the new government of Greece.
(A radical anti-capitalist alternative to Eurozone austeri...)
(Financialization is one of the most innovative concepts t...)
(First, there was the credit crunch, and governments aroun...)
In 2007 he founded Research on Money and Finance (RMF) an international network of political economists focusing on money, finance and the evolution of contemporary capitalism.