In The News

Inevitable “Greater Depression”? Project Syndicate

Nouriel Roubini April 29, 2020
Tackling problems swiftly, well in advance, tends to produce better results than waiting for crisis. After the 2007-08 crisis, governments failed to address imbalances and other structural problems. Nouriel Roubini, writing for Project Syndicate, anticipates a lingering depression throughout the decade due to economic risks long in play combined with an uneven pandemic response. He identifies 10...

COVID-19 Hits No-Degree Workers: Guardian

Kalyeena Makortoff April 26, 2020
Up to 52 million jobs in Europe are at risk during the pandemic for workers without a university degree, possibly leading to increased social inequality. They may face cuts to hours or pay, temporary furloughs, or permanent layoffs. Workers most at risk include those who work in close proximity to others such as retail staff, cooks and construction workers, while safer jobs consist of those who...

Coronavirus Hits Aerospace: Financial Times

Peggy Hollinger April 25, 2020
Pandemic has reversed optimistic forecasts from only a few months ago, hitting the global aerospace industry led by Boeing and Airbus with cancelled orders and halted production. Government lockdown policies have grounded over 60 percent of the world’s commercial aircraft. Reduced flights force airlines to cut costs and scramble for government aid to survive the hardship. Some 25 million jobs in...

Lives Versus Livelihoods: Japan Times

Gwynne Dyer April 17, 2020
COVID-19 emerged in Wuhan, China, and China imposed strict lockdown measures for 70 days. The city has reopened with officials screening temperatures and citizen movements. Other nations, especially the United States, hope to reopen economies after 30 days of lockdown isolation with less stringent measures. “Everybody knows that you can’t shut the economy down indefinitely, but nobody wants to...

Inept Multilateral System: Council on Foreign Relations

Stewart M. Patrick April 1, 2020
With COVID-19 sweeping the globe, “international cooperation has been missing in action and global solidarity has been AWOL,” reports the Financial Times. Instead of confronting the shared threat, countries take unilateral steps to protect themselves, exchanging blame for the pandemic. The Group of Seven, Group of Twenty and the United Nations have taken limited actions. The G7 finance ministers...

Declining Fortunes of the Young: IMFBlog

Era Dabla-Norris , Carlo Pizzinelli and Jay Rappaport March 3, 2020
A key indicator of economic success for families is that children do as well as their parents. Such assumptions are less sure. “Despite being more educated than their parents, millennials – those born between 1980 and 2000 – may have less job stability during their working life,” explains a team for the IMFBlog. Entering and remaining in the middle class, fast-changing job requirements, intense...

Costs of Global Uncertainty: Project Syndicate

Michael Spence March 27, 2019
Global economic activity is on decline as investors and businesses confront uncertainty. The US-China trade war contributes to the hesitation, as trade partners ponder the costs and benefits of global economic connectivity and players retreat toward old patterns. For example, China’s state-owned enterprises, a target for complaints from the United States and elsewhere over subsidies, have an...