Op-ed articles and commentaries from world's top economists

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The Smartest Ways to Save the World

Bjørn Lomborg May. 16, 2012

If you had $75 billion to spend over the next four years and your goal was to advance human welfare, especially in the developing world, how could you get the most value for your money? An expert panel of economists, including four Nobel laureates, would tell you to invest mainly in nutrition and reduction of chronic disease.
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The Death of Inflation Targeting

Jeffrey Frankel May. 16, 2012

Inflation targeting by central banks, a hugely popular monetary-policy anchor around the world, died in September 2008, when it became clear that those who had been relying on it had not paid enough attention to asset-price bubbles. But its death was never announced, owing to uncertainty over what should succeed it.
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François Hollande Meets the World

Noëlle Lenoir May. 10, 2012

France's incoming president, François Hollande, is untested in foreign policy. But, as a committed internationalist whose top priority is Europe, he will opt for continuity with Nicolas Sarkozy's outgoing administration on almost every major issue, including close cooperation with the US.
Focal Points

Germany vs. Europe

The European project may be disintegrating. Increasingly, Germany's role as European leader is being challenged, and France's rejection of austerity will embolden opponents further. Is Germany jeopardizing the European Union? How should a post-crisis eurozone – if one emerges – be organized?
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After Austerity

Joseph E. Stiglitz May. 7, 2012

So many economies are vulnerable to natural disasters – earthquakes, floods, typhoons, hurricanes, tsunamis – that adding a man-made disaster is all the more tragic. The pain that Europe, especially its poor and young, is suffering as a result of its leaders’ willful ignorance of the lessons of the past is entirely unnecessary.
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Europe’s Opportunity in Hollande

Martin Schulz May. 7, 2012

François Hollande’s victory in the French presidential election is a fresh chance for Europe. It should spell the end of a policy oriented exclusively towards austerity, which has paralyzed our economies and divided the EU, and should not scare anyone – certainly not the financial markets.
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Is Europe on a Cross of Gold?

Barry Eichengreen May. 11, 2012

Increasingly, one hears predictions that the euro will go the way of the gold standard in the 1930’s, and, increasingly, the reasoning behind such forecasts seems persuasive. But there are four reasons why the euro doomsayers may not be right.
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The Necessity of NATO

Anders Fogh Rasmussen May. 14, 2012

After the Cold War, many assumed that NATO would fade away. But NATO has always been based on shared ideals, not common threats, and, at the Alliance's upcoming summit in Chicago, its members and partners will confirm that bond, even as they address today's most pressing security issues.

Kemal Derviş May. 14

Rebalancing the Eurozone

WASHINGTON, DC – The eurozone crisis unfolded primarily as a sovereign-debt crisis mostly on its southern periphery, with int…
Dani Rodrik May. 11

Doing Development Better

CAMBRIDGE – Jim Yong Kim’s appointment as World Bank president may have been predictable, given the long-standing tradition t…
Noeleen Heyzer May. 10

Shock-Proofing Asia’s Economies

BANGKOK – Uncertainty and volatility have quickly become the “new normal” of the global economy. For several reasons, this tu…
Yannos Papantoniou May. 9

Steering Clear of the Euro Precipice

ATHENS – Renewed turbulence in the eurozone bond market underlines the need to reappraise the policies now being pursued in o…
Raghuram Rajan May. 8

Central Bankers under Siege

CHICAGO – Poor Ben Bernanke! As Chairman of the United States Federal Reserve Board, he has gone further than any other centr…
Daniel Gros May. 7

Europe’s Misguided Search for Growth

BRUSSELS – A few months ago, 25 of the 27 members of the European Union solemnly signed a treaty that committed them to enshr…
Laura Tyson May. 3

The Corporate-Tax Conundrum

BERKELEY – The United States now has the highest statutory corporate-income tax rate among developed countries. Even after va…
Stefano Micossi May. 3

Better than Basel

ROME – The Basel Accords – meant to protect depositors and the public in general from bad banking practices – exacerbated the…
Kenneth Rogoff May. 2

Why a More Flexible Renminbi Still Matters

CAMBRIDGE – One of the most notable macroeconomic developments in recent years has been the sharp drop in China’s current-acc…

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Jaswant Singh May. 16

Hillary Clinton’s Asian Adventure

NEW DELHI – On her recent trip to China, Bangladesh, and …
Zaki Laidi May. 16

Hollande or Insurrection?

PARIS – For better or worse, Europe is now engaged in an insurrection against the fiscal pact c…
Christopher R. Hill May. 16

The Diplomacy Option

DENVER – A senior Russian diplomat, in contrasting North Korea and Iran, once said to me: “The …
Juliet Torome May. 15

Oil and Isolation

NAIROBI – In Kenya, there is a running gag that sums up how far away the Turkana people live fr…
Ian Bremmer May. 15

America’s G-Zero Moment

NEW YORK – The 2008 financial crisis marked the end of the global order as we knew it. In advan…
Vishakha N. Desai and… May. 15

Power to Asia’s Women

SHANGHAI – Everyone’s eyes on are Asia’s rise. China, once dismissed as poor and backward, is n…
Minxin Pei May. 14

The Myth of Chinese Meritocracy

CLAREMONT, CALIFORNIA – Political scandals sometimes perf…
Guy Sorman May. 14

Back to Utopia?

PARIS – France no longer claims center stage in world history, but it remains influential beyon…
Joseph S. Nye May. 10

Romney versus Obama

CAMBRIDGE – While the presidential primary elections in the United States are not over, Mitt Ro…

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Browse a selection of contributors:

Bjørn Lomborg May. 16, 2012

Jeffrey Frankel May. 16, 2012

Noëlle Lenoir May. 10, 2012

Joseph E. Stiglitz May. 7, 2012

Martin Schulz May. 7, 2012

Barry Eichengreen May. 11, 2012

Anders Fogh Rasmussen May. 14, 2012

Kemal Derviş May. 14

Dani Rodrik May. 11

Noeleen Heyzer May. 10

Yannos Papantoniou May. 9

Raghuram Rajan May. 8

Daniel Gros May. 7

Laura Tyson May. 3

Stefano Micossi May. 3

Kenneth Rogoff May. 2

Jaswant Singh May. 16

Zaki Laidi May. 16

Christopher R. Hill May. 16

Juliet Torome May. 15

Ian Bremmer May. 15

Vishakha N. Desai and… May. 15

Minxin Pei May. 14

Guy Sorman May. 14

Joseph S. Nye May. 10

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