Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Giorgos Gouzoulis

Gregor Semieniuk @gregorsemieniuk.bsky.social · 16h

🚨NEW PAPER🚨
We all know the 2022 energy price shock fueled the cost of living crisis. It also caused a profit bonanza for the very rich. We show the US reaped the largest profits ($377bn) of any country. 50% went to the richest 1%, only 1% to the bottom 50%. A🧵 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

River or sankey diagram showing the allocation of profits from global oil and gas companies to quantiles of the US wealth size distribution via financial system intermediaries, such as asset managers, and categories of ultimate beneficiaries, such as business owners, pension funds and shareholders in listed companies. The scale is hundreds of billions of US dollars, and ultimately 50.4% of profits reaching the US personal wealth distribution go to the richest 1% of households.

6 130 230

Reposted by Giorgos Gouzoulis

In These Times @inthesetimes.com · 17h

What would it really take to build a green, democratic future?

@sarahljaffe.bsky.social interviews the authors of “Radical Abundance: How to Win a Green Democratic Future,” who lay out a roadmap for transitioning out of capitalism through public-common partnerships and collective power.

Transitioning Out of Capitalism Towards a Green Future

A conversation with the authors of "Radical Abundance: How to Win a Green Democratic Future" about what it will take to build a livable world for all.

inthesetimes.com

7 16

Reposted by Giorgos Gouzoulis

Sidney Rothstein @sidneyrothstein.bsky.social · 2d

Out now in Competition & Change
@compchange.bsky.social

“Dependent development in digital
capitalism: The politics of startup
policies in the new periphery”

@journals.sagepub.com
#polisky
journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...

1/n

first page of "Dependent development in digital capitalism: The politics of startup policies in the new periphery." abstract: As digital technology’s economic importance increases, policymakers pivot to supporting startups – new, small, high-risk firms that produce technological innovation. Tracing the passage of startup policies in Brazil and Spain between 2014 – 2022, this article argues that startup policies do little to reduce peripheral countries’ dependence on the core. In each case, startups advocated for these policies by relying on financial and organizational resources from the giant US-based technology firms known as “Big Tech.” The article makes three contributions to the framework of dependent development. First, it reinforces existing observations that dependence on Big Tech extends beyond the Global South. Second, it revives political analysis of dependency, exploring the political conditions for economic development in the periphery. Lastly, it shows how startups’ political dependence on Big Tech implies important limits on startups’ ability to lead peripheral economies out of dependence on the core.

1 8 24

Reposted by Giorgos Gouzoulis

Nick Taylor @ntaylor.bsky.social · 2d

If you're wondering whether academics have written on 'asylum hotels', I can point you in the direction of Martina Tazzioli's work on refugee carcerality & value extraction in the UK, Greece & Italy. See esp. section on financialised asylum accommodation in the UK.

dx.doi.org/10.1177/0263...

1 3 7

Reposted by Giorgos Gouzoulis

Giorgos Gouzoulis @ggouzoulis.bsky.social · 16d

📕My new book 'Debt and the Future of Workers' (@brisunipress.bsky.social) is now up for pre-order!

If you are interested to learn why organizing around #debt is as crucial as organizing at #work, see more details below:

📰 25% off via BUP newsletter

#Debt #Work #Financialization #Booksky

Promotional banner for the book "Debt and the Future of Workers: Financialization as Exploitation in the 21st Century" by Giorgos Gouzoulis, published by Bristol University Press. The red cover of the book shows a stack of cash inside a bear trap. The banner displays the book in print, tablet, and phone formats, with a QR code labeled "Pre-order now." Text notes: UK release April 2026, US release May 2026. Bristol University Press and Policy Press logos appear at the bottom.

4 6

Giorgos Gouzoulis @ggouzoulis.bsky.social · 16d

📕My new book 'Debt and the Future of Workers' (@brisunipress.bsky.social) is now up for pre-order!

If you are interested to learn why organizing around #debt is as crucial as organizing at #work, see more details below:

📰 25% off via BUP newsletter

#Debt #Work #Financialization #Booksky

4 6

Reposted by Giorgos Gouzoulis

Kim Kelly @kimkelly.bsky.social · Aug 25

support independent leftist music journalism by signing up for my antifascist heavy metal newsletter, Salvo (pretty please) salvo.ghost.io

Salvo

a heavy metal publication

salvo.ghost.io

7 98 320

Reposted by Giorgos Gouzoulis

Ashok Kumar 🇵🇸 @brosef-stalin.bsky.social · Aug 21

Spoke with Matt Myers for Jacobin about his new book The Halted March of the European Left, asking why the left’s surge stalled and what lessons it offers for today jacobin.com/2025/08/euro...

The Defeat of European Socialism Was Far From Inevitable

jacobin.com

3 8

Reposted by Giorgos Gouzoulis

Debt Collective 🟥 @debtcollective.bsky.social · Aug 14

We need to draw attention to a new, exploding type of household debt that only recently emerged: it's called rent debt—or "back rent debt," and it didn't really exist before COVID at all. It's getting little attention in housing discourse and media coverage.

We'll explain it.

1 34 49

Reposted by Giorgos Gouzoulis

James Wood @thinkwoodist.bsky.social · Aug 12

How do federal and state governments drive innovation in the US? My new paper @cjres.bsky.social shows how the 'Polycentric Innovation State' with multi-level, place-based policies is reshaping regional growth in places like Michigan and Maine

academic.oup.com/cjres/advanc...

The US’ Polycentric Innovation State

Abstract. This paper analyses US innovation policymaking since the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, as prevailing political economy accounts, such as the Vari

academic.oup.com

8 8

Reposted by Giorgos Gouzoulis

Prof Pamela Foohey @proffoohey.bsky.social · Aug 5

Official release date for Debt's Grip: Risk and Consumer Bankruptcy, from University of California Press!! In it, @boblawless.bsky.social, Deborah Thorne, and I draw on 11 years of court records and surveys from bankruptcy filers to describe what it means to live in financial precarity in the US.

1 4 10

Reposted by Giorgos Gouzoulis

Bristol University Press @brisunipress.bsky.social · Aug 4

🔶Issue 32 of Futures of Work is out now!

This issue explores how continuity and change shape caring relationships, revealing a gap between the ideal of consistent care and the often fragmented realities faced by care providers and recipients.

Futures of Work

A space for radical critiques of the changing world of work

buff.ly

5 6

Reposted by Giorgos Gouzoulis

Ashok Kumar 🇵🇸 @brosef-stalin.bsky.social · Jul 25

Discussed the new Left party led by Corbyn and Sultana. 230,000 people signed up in 24hrs.

Millions want to tax the rich, end the wars, redistribute wealth, and build a country that serves people, not billionaires.

They can smear, they can panic, but they can’t stop a movement whose time has come:

1 4 14

Reposted by Giorgos Gouzoulis

Mike McCarthy @itsmccarthy.bsky.social · Jul 24

I adore the politicians out there that trying to fight the right. But I can’t imagine ever actually winning without the formation of new multi-racial deliberative and participatory working-class institutions in and outside of the state. Processes are as important as policies.

1 2 8

Reposted by Giorgos Gouzoulis

Roland Erne @rolanderne.bsky.social · Jul 23

Our Transnational Socioeconomic Protest Database is now available open access:

Erne R and Nowak J (2024). Transnational Socioeconomic Protest Database. ERC Project ‘European Unions’, UCD, Dublin. Version March 2024. hdl.handle.net/10197/26247

1 3 7

Reposted by Giorgos Gouzoulis

Ewan McGaughey @ewanmg.bsky.social · Jul 23

A new water "super regulator" should have to secure profit for shareholders and banks, just like Ofwat, says the government appointed Cunliffe Review.

This isn't the change British people want: (1) clean water, (2) fair bills, (3) water in the public interest, not for private greed.

Me on SkyNews👇

1 5 8

Giorgos Gouzoulis @ggouzoulis.bsky.social · Jul 22

📕 My new book 𝘋𝘦𝘣𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴 has a cover!

If you're wondering how financialization has been reshaping the world of work and how we can defend democracy in workplaces and beyond, watch this space.

Pre-orders soon.

🇬🇧 UK Publication: April 2026 | 🇺🇸 US Publication: May 2026

Cover of the Bristol University Press book 'Debt & the Future of Workers' by Giorgos Gouzoulis, with a bold red background and white lettering. UK publication April 2026, US publication May 2026.

3

Reposted by Giorgos Gouzoulis

Daniele Girardi @dgirardi.bsky.social · Jul 20

Our Local Projections Difference-in-Differences (LP-DiD) paper is out in the Journal of Applied Econometrics.

LP-DiD is a convenient, flexible and computationally fast framework for estimating DiD using simple well-specified regressions....

[1/4]

1 14 43

Reposted by Giorgos Gouzoulis

QM_UCU @qmucu.bsky.social · Jul 20

Can we have a chat about what causes the disruption in Canada & Australia, not ruled by Trump?

That volatility of hypermarketised & underfunded HE is also happening here, and the government may want to think about the need to stabilise in order to remain attractive. www.ft.com/content/c074...

“Despite global uncertainty, the UK is increasingly viewed as the most reliable option compared to the disruption seen in the US, Canada and Australia,” he added.

4 4

Reposted by Giorgos Gouzoulis

QM_UCU @qmucu.bsky.social · Jul 18

Clickable links on The List: qmucu.org/qmul-transfo...

@yusufimaadkhan.com has been creating some insightful graphs with that HESA data on loans: observablehq.com/d/9b353c476c....

That's A WHOLE LOT OF NONSECURED LOANS. 👀 @uniofnottingham.bsky.social 5 times in a row over £150 million

5 2

Reposted by Giorgos Gouzoulis

Mike Galsworthy @mikegalsworthy.bsky.social · Jul 18

"The UK’s Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) forms the backbone of national security, economic stability and public welfare.

Yet, decades of privatisation have left many of these vital assets in the hands of private companies, often with significant foreign ownership."

Renationalising the UK’s Critical National Infrastructure is a national security imperative

From railways to water, privatised utilities have not given good service or financial viability, and may present national security risks

northwestbylines.co.uk

7 100 270

Reposted by Giorgos Gouzoulis

Jonathan Cohn @jonathancohn.bsky.social · Jul 19

Trump's Big Ugly Bill is going to make it harder for people to go to college.

www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...

The bill changes student loans in three major ways: removing most of the existing income-driven repayment plans, making repayment more difficult for lower-income graduates; creating loan limits for graduate students and parent borrowers, which will make some higher-cost programs like medical school less accessible for people who can’t pay for them out of pocket; and denying federal funds to cover certain programs if their graduates don’t meet a certain income threshold.

In short, it will become harder to get loans to cover degrees that don’t quickly lead to higher-income jobs, like associate degrees, and fields that do lead to lucrative employment but have a high cost barrier to certification, like medicine. And it will become harder for everyone to pay loans off.

“It’s going to push folks out of college altogether because they won’t have access to a co-signer and they just won’t be able to pay,” Bañez said.

3 21 37

Reposted by Giorgos Gouzoulis

Kim Kelly @kimkelly.bsky.social · Jul 18

The @pghguild.com workers of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette have officially been on strike for 1,000 days (!) today. That’s almost THREE YEARS of trying to force their employers to play fair. Show them a little love if you can: www.unionprogress.com/donate/

Donate - Pittsburgh Union Progress

Individuals and groups may donate directly, below, to the Pittsburgh Striker Fund, used exclusively to assist striking Pittsburgh Post-Gazette families with special needs. If you prefer to send a chec...

www.unionprogress.com

2 86 260

Reposted by Giorgos Gouzoulis

Matt Huber @matthuber.bsky.social · Jul 17

🚨 ‼️‼️‼️New piece in @jacobinmag.bsky.social with @hollyjeanbuck.bsky.social.

This one is Part 2 of 2 of our series on AI and labor covering 'What is to be done?' It draws from previous work with @fredstaffordcs.bsky.social on public utilities and calls for a New Deal-like public jobs program.

1 1 6

Reposted by Giorgos Gouzoulis

Jo Michell @jomichell.bsky.social · Jul 18

anyone remember skill-biased technical change?

2 8 16