International Selection

The rising popularity of SPACs and cryptocurrencies seems to reflect not their own strengths but rather the excesses of the current moment. A column by Jim O’Neill.

The Biden package will increase US government debt as a share of GDP by ten percentage points, with little benefit for the US economy. A column by Daniel Gros.

If Western countries continue to focus solely on vaccinating their own populations while ignoring the need for global coordination, they should prepare for a future without unencumbered international travel. A column by Daron Acemoglu.

Independent macro strategist Russell Napier warns of rising inflation. The attempt to keep rates below inflation is a commitment to theft to bondholders.

There are three main reasons for Russia’s economic stagnation: Putin’s authoritarian kleptocracy above all, then oil prices and Western financial sanctions. A column by Anders Åslund.

The key question is whether we can be confident that the state of exception will end. If we can identify that moment, we need not worry about inflation. By Harold James, Markus Brunnermeier, and Jean-Pierre Landau.

It is even possible that a year from now, central banks will be seriously considering deeply negative interest rates in order to rekindle inflation and demand. A column by Kenneth Rogoff.

Recent trends in US consumer spending suggest that the natural forces of pent-up demand may largely be spent. A column by Stephen S. Roach.

Italy’s new prime minister Mario Draghi should become one of the EU’s core leaders, along with president Macron and chancellor Merkel. A column by Melvyn Krauss.

Both countries could begin to reset relations with an agreement to restore the WTO’s dispute-settlement role through US approval of new Appellate Body judges. A column by Anne O. Krueger.

The fundamental laws of economics have not been repealed. Profligate government spending invariably has damaging consequences. A column by John B. Taylor.

Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic adviser at Allianz, warns of market accidents due to high liquidity risk.