What is this page about?
My name is Mats Marcusson and this is my newsletter blog which you will receive in your inbox if you decide to subscribe. I’ve recently moved my blog here from another place. I have tried to revise those imported posts and make the pictures in them readable.
I blog about economics and politics. My economics’ posts are mostly about growth and inequality. I have blogged about inequality in Sweden and differences in growth and prosperity between countries. While some countries are endowed with natural resources which is helpful, they may have institutions that are detrimental to growth. Liberal democracies characterised by well-functioning markets and rule of law tend to have higher living standards than autocracies where rule of law is absent and corruption is pervasive. Such countries also tend to have more unequal distributions of income and wealth than liberal democracies.
Below are a few examples. The first two about income inequality in Sweden.
Here’s a post where I argue that a country with “good” institutions are more prosperous
But things are not as straightforward as it may seem. So, here’s a post where I question the relationship between the quality of institutions and prosperity.
That made me blog also about politics, especially civil liberties and human rights in different countries. My first posts were about muscovy’s (aka ruZZia) war against Ukraine which began in 2014. muscovy’s war against Ukraine made me even more positive to NATO. I have therefore also blogged about why Sweden should join NATO which will happen this year even if Erdogan makes a lot of noise. Closely related to this subject are my posts about disinformation. Disinformation is carried out mostly by authoritarian regimes like China and muscovy, but also by their supporters in other countries. Some of my most read posts are about Swedish useful idiots who push the kremlin’s agenda whether it is about NATO, Ukraine or anything else that matters for the kremlin.
When one blogs about kremlin disinformation, it is impossible to avoid blogging about how the kremlin tries to rewrite histor and use it as a weapon. Thus, you’ll find some posts about the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact and how the kremlin lies about that and its role in WWII.
The above posts may give the impression of me being a historian or perhaps someone who passed a few courses in politicial science at University. While the latter is true, the former isn’t. I am however an economist. I have post graduate degree in Economics. I have tried to use some of my incomplete knowledge about that discipline in posts about growth and inequality and other economic topics. I have also used it in posts about muscovy’s war against Ukraine.
Who am I?
I’m a retired economist. After my post grad degree in Economics in 1995, I’ve worked in both the private and public sector in Denmark and Sweden. Mostly in Sweden.
As part of my engagement for freedom and democracy in Ukraine, I have also enlisted in NAFO, as you can see on my profile picture. As a member of NAFO, I spend some time on twitter bonking vatniks.
To find out more about the company that provides the tech for this newsletter, visit Substack.com.
