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30 October 2014updated 26 Sep 2015 7:31am

Crash test dummies: a call for bold economic reform

When it comes to solutions to our post-crisis problems, Martin Wolf argues, the first step is to jettison the straitjacket of mainstream economics – and this he proceeds to do.

By Felix Martin

The Shifts and the Shocks 
Martin Wolf
Allen Lane, 496pp, £25

Mainstream economics is in crisis. That might seem a melodramatic statement, one that has been made every year for the past half-century. But this time it is true. I say this not because of some personal vendetta, but on grounds with which any self-­respecting economist would find it hard to argue. The consumers have had enough: young people no longer want to study it.

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