Articles & Essays
How Germany can avoid a two-speed Europe
The “euro crisis” is generally seen as a currency crisis, but it is also a sovereign debt and, even more, a banking crisis. The situation is complex. The complexity has bred confusion, and this has political consequences. Europe’s various member states have formed widely different views and their
Openness can help lift the curse of resources
The natural resources sector has the potential to generate billions of dollars in revenues that can be used for poverty reduction and sound investment. For decades, however, management secrecy has allowed corruption to thrive in countries such as Angola, Cambodia and Guinea. According to Nigeria’s
Why Obama has to get Egypt right
Revolutions usually start with enthusiasm and end in tears. In the case of the Middle East, the tears could be avoided if President Obama stands firmly by the values that got him elected. Although American power and influence in the world have declined, our allies and their armies look to us for
Europe should rescue banks before states
The architects of the euro knew that it was incomplete when they designed it. The currency had a common central bank but no common treasury – unavoidable given that the Maastricht treaty was meant to bring about monetary union without political union. The authorities were confident, however, that
Grounds for hope for the climate change agenda
The official communique from the Cancún climate change conference cannot disguise the fact that there will be no successor to the Kyoto protocol when it expires at the end of 2012. Japan, among others, has withdrawn its support for efforts simply to extend the Kyoto treaty.
This sounds like bad
Why I Support Legal Marijuana
Our marijuana laws are clearly doing more harm than good. The criminalization of marijuana did not prevent marijuana from becoming the most widely used illegal substance in the United States and many other countries. But it did result in extensive costs and negative consequences.
Law enforcement
China must fix the global currency crisis
I share the growing concern about the misalignment of currencies. Brazil’s finance minister speaks of a latent currency war, and he is not far off the mark. It is in the currency markets where different economic policies and different economic and political systems interact and clash.
The
America needs stimulus not virtue
The Obama administration’s insistence on fiscal rectitude is dictated not by financial necessity but by political considerations. The US is not in the position of Europe's heavily indebted countries, which must pay hefty premiums over the price at which Germany can borrow. Interest rates on US
The Crisis and the Euro
I believe that misconceptions play a large role in shaping history, and the euro crisis is a case in point.
Let me start my analysis with the previous crisis, the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers. In the week following September 15, 2008, global financial markets actually broke down and by the end of
America must face up to the dangers of derivatives
The US Security and Exchange Commission’s civil suit against Goldman Sachs will be vigorously contested by the defendant. It is interesting to speculate which side will win; but we will not know the result for months. Irrespective of the eventual outcome, however, the case has far-reaching
