In The News

In Latin America along with Europe and the United States, political parties that lean right are strengthening. Since the 1970s, social and political change is shown to be derived from cycles of “economic malaise,” writes Ernesto Talvi for the Brookings Institution. Corruption scandals combined with economic doldrums, as in the case of Brazil, have reduced popularity of left-leaning governments....

China bypassed courts by blocking two Hong Kong legislators from taking office – not allowing them to retake oaths after they modified the oath the first time and failed to swear allegiance to the larger power. “The move by mainland China is the latest chapter in an ongoing tussle between Beijing and Hong Kongers who worry that the city’s relative autonomy, protected until 2047 under the handover...

Many industries – including agriculture and insurance – anticipate major disruptions from climate change. Martin Wolf, chief economics commentator for Financial Times, is pessimistic about US leadership on the issue, expressing alarm that climate change was not discussed more during the presidential campaign. He points to two types of denial: Major denial from Donald Trump and the right stems...