The folly of Donald Trumps bilateralism in global trade on March 20, 2017The Marshall Plan is rightly regarded as among the most successful pieces of economic diplomacy in history. Yet it was not the money that mattered most. It was rather that it allowed war-battered western Europe to move away from mutually impoverishing bilateralism in trade. It did so by removing the dollar shortage that drove the […]
Indias bold experiment with cash on February 26, 2017On November 8 2016, Narendra Modi, the prime minister of India, announced that the Rs500 and Rs1,000 notes (worth about $7.50 and $15 respectively) would be demonetised with immediate effect. This act cancelled 86 per cent of the value of cash in circulation. Moreover, the cancelled notes had to be deposited in banks by December […]
Donald Trumps tough talk will not bring US jobs back on February 6, 2017Blame foreigners first. This strategy is always the companion of aggrieved nationalism. It can be seen in Donald Trump’s ban on immigrants from seven countries. It will be seen in his protectionism. A kernel of truth – terrorism and the direct impact of imports on jobs – bolsters a lie: my actions are enough to […]
The risks that threaten global growth on January 9, 2017What is going to happen to the world economy this year? Much the most plausible answer is that it is going to grow. As I argued in a column published at this time last year, the most astonishing fact about the world economy is that it has grown in every year since the early 1950s. […]
The markets have taught Theresa May a hard lesson on sovereignty on October 17, 2016 Politicians propose; markets dispose. Last week began with a statement by Theresa May, the UK prime minister, of her plans for Brexit. The foreign currency markets responded by writing down the value of UK assets. The UK is determined to “take back control” of its fate. But formal sovereignty is not power. The UK […]