27 июля 2024 года
Although markets can promote economic efficiency under the right conditions, there is no “invisible hand” to deliver solidarity, agency, material sufficiency, and environmental sustainability. These four ingredients of human flourishing should serve as the foundation of all our policymaking.
With stock markets soaring, two factors can serve as early warnings of where and when a financial-market bubble might burst, and whether it will be followed by a market correction or a broader economic crisis. It all comes down to the intrinsic productive value of the underlying assets, and how investments are financed.
Student protests against the Bangladeshi government’s job-quota system culminated in a weeks-long violent crackdown and a ruling from the Supreme Court that 93% of public-service jobs must be given on merit. But the protests, despite being temporary quelled, could still expand into a wider anti-government movement.
At a moment when the private sector is withdrawing resources from climate funds and public finances are constrained everywhere, the idea that central banks can play a larger role should not be discarded. Monetary policymakers today are well equipped to walk and chew gum at the same time.
US stock markets have remained bullish in the face of deepening domestic and international risks, owing to three key factors. But with two of these coming under pressure, the durability of the current cycle will depend on the third: the US Federal Reserve.
Donald Trump believes that devaluing the dollar will restore America’s manufacturing sector to its former glory. But even if the greenback weakens sooner rather than later – as looks likely, regardless of policy decisions – a second Trump administration would probably still forge ahead with its disastrous tariff plan.
While the Democrats have aired their dirty laundry in public, the Republicans have put on an ostentatious display of unity at their nominating convention. Evolutionary science shows that the former would do well to emulate the latter and unite quickly behind Kamala Harris.
The Democrats' momentous decision to push Joe Biden out of the running followed difficult internal debates in which the president's supporters had a point: If he could just make it past the election, he would still be a good president for the next couple of years. The same cannot be said for Donald Trump.
Today’s risk-averse economic climate calls for increased public investment to attract reluctant private capital. But British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s insistence on adhering to strict fiscal rules casts doubt on his ability to pull the United Kingdom out of its economic malaise.
Contrary to what many Western policymakers and commentators once hoped, recent analyses have added to the evidence that trade does not always foster democracy or liberalize regimes. Instead, China’s greater integration with the developing world appears to be doing precisely the opposite.
