Economy

The Choking of the Global Minotaur

2021-11-14

The supply disruptions plaguing the US economy are not the result of "excessive demand," "central planning," or a lack of efficiency. Rather, it is that a logistics ecosystem that was developed to feed the beast of American...

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Supply Shortages – Don’t Blame Covid

2021-10-06

The world is facing a critical supply-chain failure. Everything from energy shortages in China and the UK to household appliances and taco sauce in the United States...

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Without help for oil-producing countries, net zero by 2050 is a distant dream

2021-09-08

In the Middle East and north Africa, global warming is not a distant threat, but an already painful reality. Rising temperatures are exacerbating water shortages...

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Will Central Bank Digital Currencies Doom Dollar Dominance?

2021-08-15

Some say that issuance of central bank digital currencies will transform the international monetary status quo by eroding the US dollar’s dominance of cross-border payments and greatly reducing transaction costs. But this is not going to happen.

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Preventing a Stablecoin Liquidity Crisis

2021-08-10

There is no sound argument for applying lender-of-last-resort protection to privately issued cryptocurrencies. But regulators can prevent the all-too-predictable liquidity squeeze caused by a run on stablecoins...

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OPEC Will Boost Oil Output—But Don't Expect Lower Prices at the Pump

2021-07-24

Although more supplies will be coming to market, the economic impact of this decision will depend on issues of timing, royal rapprochement, and new COVID surges.

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Battle of the Barrels

2021-07-19

The public disagreement between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia this week in the OPEC+ group has shaken international markets given the high stakes involved for a deal supporting...

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Will the economic recovery survive the end of emergency stimulus?

2021-07-19

Many economists worry that economies in the rich world could face a similar fate. The past 18 months of lockdowns have left surprisingly few economic scars. A brisk recovery is under way. But has the damage from covid-19 been avoided, or merely deferred?

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Will Another Taper Tantrum Hit Emerging Markets?

2021-07-19

Market movements this month have led to renewed fears that changes in US financial and monetary conditions will trigger a painful wave of capital flight from emerging markets...

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Criticizing the Pandemic

2021-06-01

Many of the trends that were visible two years ago – from aging populations and failing states to nuclear proliferation and cyber insecurity – remain acute.

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THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE OF U.S. SANCTIONS ENFORCEMENT

2021-03-23

For U.S. presidents, economic sanctions are the foreign policy equivalent of a Swiss Army knife — a dangerous, multifunctional tool that looks capable of solving many more problems than it actually can...

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How Economists and Non-Economists Can Get Along

2021-03-22

Understanding the advantages and limitations of economists methods clarifies the value they can add to analysis of non-economic questions. Equally important...

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The COVID Bubble

2021-03-04

With equity markets reaching new heights at a time of rising income and wealth inequality, it should be obvious that todays market mania will end in tears, reproducing the economic injustices of the 2008 crash...

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Will Inflation Make a Comeback?

2021-02-22

Economic forecasting models have long been notoriously inaccurate in predicting inflation, and COVID-19 has further complicated the challenge...

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What’s Different About the GameStop Bubble?

2021-02-07

In the last week of January, the price of stock in GameStop – an ailing brick-and-mortar video-game retailer – soared ...

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Supply Chains and Demand

2020-12-15

The pandemic has shown that supply chains will need to be rethought, with more emphasis put on supplier diversification, domestic production, and stockpiling.

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A Good but Incomplete Start to Debt Relief

2020-11-25

After initially responding to the pandemic induced economic crisis with an initiative to postpone developing countries debt payments, the G20 has now come back to the table to offer a more plausible solution. But the new common framework for....

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Job Creation Is the New Game in Town

2020-11-19

Even if a successful rollout of a new COVID-19 vaccine causes the current health crisis to recede by next spring, the unemployment crisis will remain. That is especially true in the United Kingdom...

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Rethinking Resilience in Business

2020-11-07

COVID-19 is forcing firms to reimagine resilience. Instead of trying to strengthen their ability to resist change, companies must learn how to adapt and adjust ...

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How COVID-19 Will Increase Inequality in Emerging Markets and Developing Economies

2020-11-05

Emerging markets and developing economies grew consistently in the two decades before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, allowing for much-needed gains

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Capitalism After the Pandemic

2020-10-22

Getting the Recovery Right

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How to Govern the New Digital Domain

2020-10-21

For too long, and on too many issues, policymakers have left the governance of technology in the hands of those who design it. Governments face three imperatives...

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Scotland after Sterling

2020-10-19

Scottish advocates of leaving the United Kingdom need a plan for a new currency and an independent central bank...

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Capitalism Is Broken. The Fix Begins With a Free Covid-19 Vaccine.

2020-10-19

Skewed public-private relationships, like pharmaceutical companies getting millions from taxpayers then overcharging for drugs, are just one part of the problem.

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