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Simon Johnson

Simon Johnson

Writing for PS since 2007
174 commentaries

Simon Johnson, a former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, is a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, Faculty Director of MIT’s Shaping the Future of Work initiative, and Co-Chair of the CFA Institute Systemic Risk Council. He is a co-author (with Daron Acemoglu) of Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity (PublicAffairs, 2023). 

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  1. History Already Tells Us the Future of AI
    acemoglu72_ Hulton ArchiveGetty Images_cottonhandweaving Hulton Archive/Getty Images

    History Already Tells Us the Future of AI

    Apr 23, 2024 Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson find policy lessons for the 2020s in the work of the early-nineteenth-century economist David Ricardo.

  2. Russian Revisionism and the Sources of Western Weakness
    johnson175_ Alexander ManzyukAnadolu Agency via Getty Images_russian oil Alexander Manzyuk/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

    Russian Revisionism and the Sources of Western Weakness

    Apr 2, 2024 Simon Johnson & Oleg Ustenko explain why Vladimir Putin’s effort to revise the post-Cold War geopolitical order could succeed.

  3. Putin’s Silk Road Around Sanctions
    rbrooks1_Markus Scholzpicture alliance via Getty Images_germanyshipping Markus Scholz/picture alliance via Getty Images

    Putin’s Silk Road Around Sanctions

    Feb 29, 2024 Robin Brooks & Simon Johnson urge Europe and the G7 to stop the re-export of Western goods to Russia from Central Asia and the Caucasus.

  4. Dark Offshore Money Threatens Democracy
    james173_Getty Images_offshore accounts Getty Images

    Dark Offshore Money Threatens Democracy

    Jan 2, 2024 Simon Johnson & Daron Acemoglu call for a crackdown on the dozens of tax havens around the world and reform of financial secrecy laws.

  5. Kissinger’s Opening to China Will Haunt American Politics in 2024
    acemoglu67_Getty Images_kissinger china Getty Images

    Kissinger’s Opening to China Will Haunt American Politics in 2024

    Dec 15, 2023 Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson show how US economic policies based solely on realpolitik have backfired but still cast a shadow.

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  1. Project Syndicate
    0

    Trump’s Plans for the Fed Would Revive 1970s-Style Inflation

    Maurice Obstfeld

    Former US President Donald Trump, whose preference for lower interest rates and a weaker dollar was evident during his first term, is reportedly planning to override the Federal Reserve’s independence if he returns to the White House in 2025. The result would be a toxic inflationary cocktail.

     thinks the presumptive GOP nominee’s policies reflect an outdated understanding of the economy.
  2. adebajo5_Getty Images_southafricaelection Sean Gallup/Getty Images
    0

    Mandela’s Heirs Face Their Biggest Election Test

    Adekeye Adebajo explains why the African National Congress could lose its 30-year monopoly on power.
  3. dalmia1_DIBYANGSHU SARKARAFP via Getty Images_bjp DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP via Getty Images
    0

    What Explains the BJP’s Rise?

    Gaurav Dalmia

    Why are there such high expectations for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in India’s ongoing parliamentary election? Simply put, the party is far better organized than its rivals, and its leader, Narendra Modi, is undeniably the most charismatic Indian prime minister in recent memory.

     ennumerates the reasons why the ruling party has come to dominate the country’s electoral landscape.
  4. zhang66_STRAFP via Getty Images_chinaelectricvehicles STR/AFP via Getty Images
    0

    Why China Provides Evidence for Optimists and Pessimists Alike

    Zhang Jun explains why rigorous, evidence-based assessments of the economy's performance can diverge sharply.
  5. marin27_Sean GallupGetty Images_afd Sean Gallup/Getty Images
    0

    The Zero-Sum Logic Fueling the Rise of Germany’s Far Right

    Dalia Marin thinks that promoting economic growth remains the most effective antidote to nativist sentiments.
  6. velasco147_Tomas CuestaGetty Images_argentinapesos Tomas Cuesta/Getty Images
    0

    Argentina’s Inflation Paradoxes

    Andrés Velasco asks whether President Javier Milei's administration can sustain its initial economic-policy successes.
  7. buruma213_Stephanie KeithGetty Images_palestine college Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
    1

    The Privileged Gaza Protesters

    Ian Buruma argues that fear of losing rank could be driving students to demonstrate their intersectional bona fides.
  8. krueger54_ Anna MoneymakerGetty Images_CHIPS Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
    1

    What Mission-Driven Government Means

    Mariana Mazzucato & Rainer Kattel correct common misconceptions about a particular form of state participation in the economy.
  9. haldar33_Sean GallupGetty Images for Burda Media_kahneman Sean Gallup/Getty Images for Burda Media
    1

    The Psychologist Who Convinced Economists that to Err Is Human

    Antara Haldar reflects on the pioneering work and legacy of one of the world’s most influential social scientists.

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