Very challenging, the work of Wolfgang Streeck. He is very thorough, very clear. He recently retired as Director of the Max Plank Cologne

His basic view is that under  neoliberalism, the goal is to privatize the economy and eliminate any rising political threat to wealth concentration.  Money takes over politics. Police enforcement increasesThe result is more inequality which mans less buying power means less profit means more inequality as money seeks to maintain itself through regressive tax, privatizing the commons, defeating unions, an unlimited virtual liquidity from central banks,  while debt increases. The social contract which recycled the profits of the rich to the ages of the poor is broken. In the face of these  there are no obvious counterforces so we can expect these trends to continue until… messy collapse.

In this view there is really little to learn about economics.  The action shifts to the drama of chaos. Lts of economic facts but not much room for analytics, which require some stability to be of use.

Underlying the whole dynamic is the stagnant economy, starting its slowdown in the late  60″s. There is a view, widely held, and maybe even here, that Financial policy could bring back significant growth. So one  question is, why was there a slowdown four decades ago and do the same factors still pertain and if so,  is growth possible under any policies?

A good way in is this talk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQ_TxhVOD6M

In Print is

How Will Capitalism End?

http://newleftreview.org/II/87/wolfgang-streeck-how-will-capitalism-end