A regular survey of experts on matters relating to Middle Eastern and North African politics and security.
detailsThe broad consensus of the COVID-19 era holds that measures to protect public health imply hard trade-offs with economic growth and political liberty.
detailsAfter the 2008 financial crisis, we learned the hard way what happens when governments flood the economy with unconditional liquidity, rather than laying the foundation for a sustainable and inclusive recovery. Now that an even more severe crisis is under
detailsMillions of people around the world have lost their jobs amid the current Covid-19 crisis. How should you handle your emotional reaction?
detailsUS currency is imported into the country but Beiruts international airport is to remain closed until at least 12 April
detailsFor years, the economics profession has suffered from a stubborn reluctance to adopt a more multidisciplinary approach. But now that the COVID-19
detailsThe more contained you want the novel coronavirus to be, the more you will need to lock down your country – and the more fiscal space you will require to mitigate the deeper recession that will result.
detailsTotal U.S. production from all sources will remain the worlds largest no matter how low prices go, leaving Washington (and Texas) with considerable room to help domestic companies and press Riyadh and Moscow on stabilizing prices.
detailsWhile Chinese authorities have been destroying banknotes that have potentially come into contact with the coronavirus, Western countries remain woefully behind not just in their response to the pandemic
detailsBased on Chinas experience with COVID-19, the fiscal cost of comprehensive compensation for lost income could reach 10% of annual GDP, and as much as 25% of GDP in the US and Europe if the epidemic turns out to be worse there, which now looks likely. Thes
detailsThe case for a coordinated and synchronized global fiscal stimulus is becoming stronger by the hour.
detailsThe COVID-19 crisis has exposed the underlying weaknesses in national economies, health systems, and even political ideologies.
detailsThe COVID-19 outbreaks implications for the global economy are highly uncertain but potentially disastrous.
detailsThe COVID-19 crisis is rich in lessons, especially for the United States. One takeaway is that viruses do not carry passports; in fact, they don’t observe national borders – or nationalist rhetoric – at all.
detailsNow that the coronavirus has gone global, markets are swooning and the weaknesses of national health systems are being revealed. Like the slower-moving crisis of antimicrobial resistance, the pandemic should alert governments to the need for significantly
detailsA clear parallel between the growing COVID-19 pandemic and climate change is emerging. In particular, both phenomena highlight the need for much closer forward-looking international cooperation to reduce and manage global threats.
detailsWith politicians proposing policies that would vastly expand the size of the government and its involvement in the economy, it is clear that too many Americans have forgotten the lessons of the twentieth century. As Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman poi
detailsPolicymakers and too many economic commentators fail to grasp how the next global recession may be unlike the last two. In contrast to recessions driven mainly by a demand shortfall, the challenge posed by
detailsEconomic policymakers can no longer afford to view inequality as an issue separate from boosting employment and incomes. Addressing it through a wealth tax, combined with more effective antitrust policies and enforcement, has become essential to sustainin
detailsWhile the changing nature of global power may tempt some actors to seek advantage through confrontation, the expanding field of stakeholders offers the possibility of a course correction.
detailsFinancial institutions must address the issue of technological sustainability, especially with regard to data, robotics, and artificial intelligence.
detailsNot surprisingly, American billionaires have dismissed recent wealth-tax proposals as an affront to the entrepreneurial spirit to which they attribute their massive wealth.
detailsRouhani has taken a remarkably austere fiscal approach ahead of the looming parliamentary election, but the countrys economic situation is still not sustainable over the long run.
detailsRather than attempting to beat Iran into submission with escalating economic sanctions, the international community should be attempting to guide it toward greater openness...
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