Costas Lapavitsas (; born January 20, 1961) is a professor of

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

at the

School of Oriental and African Studies The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury area ...

, University of London and was elected as a member of the

Hellenic Parliament The Parliament of the Hellenes (), commonly known as the Hellenic Parliament (), is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Greece, located in the Old Royal Palace, overlooking Syntagma Square in Athens. The parliament is the supreme demo ...

for the left-wing

Syriza The Coalition of the Radical Left – Progressive Alliance (), best known by the syllabic abbreviation SYRIZA ( ; ; a pun on the Greek adverb , meaning "from the roots" or "radically"), is a Centre-left politics, centre-left to Left-wing politi ...

party in the January 2015 general election. He subsequently defected to the Popular Unity in August 2015.

Academic career

In 1982, Lapavitsas obtained a master's degree at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

, followed in 1986 by a PhD at

Birkbeck College Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public research university located in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. Established in 1823 as the London Mechanics' ...

, University of London. Since 1999, he has taught Economics at the

, first as a lecturer and since 2008 as a professor.

Political career

Lapavitsas is known for his criticism of the modern Western financial system, particularly the

Greek government-debt crisis Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family ** Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kn ...

, the

European debt crisis The euro area crisis, often also referred to as the eurozone crisis, European debt crisis, or European sovereign debt crisis, was a multi-year debt crisis and financial crisis in the European Union (EU) from 2009 until, in Greece, 2018. The e ...

and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. He is also a columnist for the British newspaper ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''. 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. As early as 2011, Lapavitsas, together with some other Greek economists, has been highly eurosceptic, advocating for Greece abandoning the

euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

and returning to its former national currency (the

drachma Drachma may refer to: * Ancient drachma, an ancient Greek currency * Modern drachma The drachma ( ) was the official currency of modern Greece from 1832 until the launch of the euro in 2001. First modern drachma The drachma was reintroduce ...

) as a response to the Greek government-debt crisis. On 2 March 2015, Lapavitsas wrote in ''The Guardian'' that releasing Greek people from

austerity In economic policy, austerity is a set of Political economy, political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through Government spending, spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. There are three prim ...

and simultaneously avoiding a major falling-out with the

eurozone The euro area, commonly called the eurozone (EZ), is a Monetary union, currency union of 20 Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro (Euro sign, €) as their primary currency ...

is an impossible task for the new government of Greece. In July 2015, Lapavitsas endorsed

Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...

's campaign in the Labour Party leadership election, saying: "If he succeeds – and I hope he does – he's exactly what Britain could do with, what the Labour Party could do with. I think that would be a very important move for the rest of Europe and for Greece. It would give a boost to the kind of thinking that would be necessary in the rest of Europe that is so sadly lacking at the moment. It would be the best thing to come out of Britain for Europe in a long time".

Bibliography

Books

*
The Left Case Against the EU
(Polity Press, 2018). *
Marxist Monetary Theory: Collected Papers
' (Brill, 2017). * ''Word for word: Writings on the Greek Crisis'' (Athens: Topos Press, 2014). *
Profiting Without Producing: How Finance Exploits Us All
' (2013). *
Crisis in the Eurozone
' (2012). *
Financialisation in Crisis
' (Brill, 2012). *
El capitalismo financiarizado Expansión y crisis
' (2009). * editor with Makoto Noguchi,
Beyond Market-Driven Development
' (Routledge, 2004). *
Social Foundations of Markets, Money and Credit
' (Routledge, 2003). * co-author with Makoto Itoh,
Political Economy of Money and Finance
'. (London-Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1998).

Interviews

"Greece: Phase Two"
''Jacobin'' (12 March 2015). Retrieved 2 April 2018.
Costas Lapavitsas
on HARDtalk, ''

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

'' (12 January 2015). Retrieved 2 April 2018.
"The Credit Crunch"
''International Socialism'' 117 (Winter 2008). Retrieved 2 April 2018.

Articles

Costas Lapavitsas
on ''

the Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''
Costas Lapavitsas
on ''

Jacobin The Society of the Friends of the Constitution (), renamed the Society of the Jacobins, Friends of Freedom and Equality () after 1792 and commonly known as the Jacobin Club () or simply the Jacobins (; ), was the most influential political cl ...

Public Lectures

"Profiting Without Producing: How Finance Exploits Us All "
''Boston University'' (5 March 2014). Retrieved 16 December 2023.

References

External links

*
Costas Lapavitsas at SOAS

Research on Money and Finance
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lapavitsas, Costas 21st-century Greek economists Living people Alumni of the London School of Economics Alumni of Birkbeck, University of London Economics educators Marxian economists Financial economists Syriza politicians Greek MPs 2015 (February–August) 1961 births Academics of SOAS University of London Politicians from Thessaloniki