It must be the beginning of the new university year that makes us — once again — think long and hard about our profession, its meaning and what, as economics educators and professionals, we are
Was Stalin “Necessary”? Three Ways to Read Soviet Industrialization
In a little over a decade after the 1917 Revolution, the Soviet Union vaulted from a mostly agrarian economy to an industrial power. By 1940, overall industrial output was several times its late-19
Political Crisis Without an Economic Cost?
This text is a slightly expanded conclusion of my article “Politička kriza bez ekonomske cene?”, originally published in Serbian on Peščanik. The full version (in Serbian) is available here:
“Getting More Than They Earned”? Reflections on Safronov’s Great Soviet Economy
In my most recent project on Serbia’s Productivity and Wage Dynamics, I analyzed the long-term relationship between real wages and labor productivity, demonstrating that despite periods of wage g
When the Economy Turns Against the Regime: Crisis and the Authoritarian Order
In a previous article, I analyzed the economic consequences of the protests. As I noted (and the figures for the first quarter of this year, published by the Statistical Office of the Republic, cle
From Billions to Trillions to Traps: Rethinking Development Finance from the Periphery
The failure of the “billions to trillions” agenda is not just a technical shortfall — it reflects deeper structural imbalances in global finance. While MDBs continue to mobilize capital throu
UN Reform at a Crossroads: Merge, Shrink, or Rebuild?
A crisis response or a structural reboot? The recent Reuters report titled “Exclusive: UN eyes big overhaul amid funding crisis, internal memo shows” reveals that the United Nations is contempl
Introduction to Yugoslavia (Uvod u Jugoslaviju), by Dejan Jović
Introduction History knows several Yugoslavias: the monarchy before World War II, the socialist federation (1945-1991), and the “rump Yugoslavia” (1992-2006). It is the second Yugoslavi
No Enemies of Capital Here: Why Trump Isn’t Leading a Socialist Revolution
Wealth destruction, a universal feature of social revolutions Branko Milanovic, a prominent inequality scholar and former lead economist at the World Bank, recently posted on X: “Every socialist
Who’s Afraid of Tolstoy? On Propaganda, Memory, and Minority Rights
Ashkelon: A city of diversity in a geopolitical crossroad Each time I visit Ashkelon in Israel, I am struck by its remarkable diversity. Few places can match its rich cultural and ethnic mix: East