http://www.project-syndicate.org/about_us/rss en 13:10:14 21-Mar-2010 webmaster@project-syndicate.org http://www.interglacial.com/rss/about.html http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/sinn30/1 The Greek disaster was possible because its government deceived its European partners for years with faked statistics. The other euro-zone countries, fearing a massive loss of trust in the common currency, have no choice but to come to the rescue, but the price for Greece will be a significant loss of sovereignty. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/boskin7/1 Sub-national governments – states, countries, cities, provinces, towns, and special districts – play different roles from country to country, but usually deliver important public services. In many countries, their fiscal position has collapsed under the combined weight of mismanagement and the global economic and financial crisis. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/sinn29/1 Once upon a time, stocks were risky and collateralized securities were safe. That time is over, as the collapse of the US mortgage securitization market has exposed the once-vaunted American financial system's underlying lack of trustworthiness. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/boskin6/1 One of the worst responses by officials to the financial crisis and deep recession has been to revive “industrial policy.” Governments' use of subsidies, mandates, regulation, and capital investment to pick industrial winners and losers failed in the 1970's and 1980's, and it is just as bad an idea today. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/sinn28/1 Many people believe that America will try to play “the Italian card”: inflating away its public debt and devaluing the currency in order to maintain international competitiveness. Europe, meanwhile, also faces skyrocketing public debt, but the strengthening euro makes inflation impossible, making Japanese-style stagnation a serious risk. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/boskin5/1 As the world economy begins to recover, renewed attention is being paid to enormous fiscal deficits and vast expansion of government debt. Fiscal exit strategies must be planned and implemented soon, before stimulus programs become permanently entrenched, develop powerful constituencies, and greatly increase the risk of rising interest rates, inflation, and taxation. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/sinn27/1 The forces of globalization that were liberated by the fall of Communism have created a better world, with rapid economic convergence and shrinking inequality. But the future is also fraught with danger, as the changing global economic power structure will inevitably re-shape the geopolitical order in ways that incumbent powers, particularly the US, will not easily accept. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/boskin4/1 PALO ALTO – Early signs of a manufacturing rebound, already strong in Asia, lend hope for some modest recovery from today’s deep global recession. But a strong and durable economic expansion is unlikely until progress is made in dealing with the toxic assets poisoning the balance sheets of financial institutions and bedeviling policymakers almost everywhere. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/sinn26/1 In recent months, US bank shares have rebounded, and some banks have even succeeded in repaying at least part of their government-provided capital. But this may only be a temporary improvement in expectations rather than a sign of permanent recovery, as the size of the banks’ hidden losses on their balance sheets is probably enormous, with much of it yet to be written off. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/boskin3/1 It is too soon to gauge the full economic impact of Barack Obama’s economic policies, but a preliminary read indicates limited short-term benefit at large long-term cost. The administration is exploiting a crisis atmosphere to enact a vast agenda that would reengineer the American economy, from autos and financial services to health care, energy, and the distribution of income. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/sinn25/1 Since last autumn, Germany has been accused by many Anglo-American economists, above all by the 2008 Nobel laureate Paul Krugman, of not doing enough to combat the world economic crisis and of free-riding on other countries’ stimulus programs. The data, however, show that this allegation stands reality on its head. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/boskin2/1 The bottom line in the current global recession is that full recovery will not come any time soon, and that government policies can at best mitigate the economic consequences. Sometimes, strong recoveries follow recessions, but recovery following financial crises is always immensely painful, time-consuming, and traumatic.