Informal workers comprise about 60% of the global labor force – and a much larger share in emerging and developing economies. Many of them have made essential contributions during the pandemic, but that is no guarantee of improved rights, benefits, and working conditions once the crisis is over.
Regulators in Europe, the United States, and China are vowing to impose tougher sanctions against internet giants in order to reduce their market dominance and political clout. But those placing their hope in antitrust law as a panacea are likely to be disappointed.
With inflation subdued for now, central banks are increasingly responding to public pressure to address inequality and climate change. But by venturing into new policy terrain and exposing themselves to accusations of mission creep, they may be jeopardizing their operational independence.
Among its many harmful effects, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated long-standing gender inequalities. If leaders are serious about “building back better” and promoting inclusive economies and societies, they must take concrete steps to empower women at home, at work, and in policymaking.
To help finance its massive post-pandemic infrastructure investment package, US President Joe Biden’s administration plans to increase corporate taxes and reduce the scope for profit-shifting by US-based multinationals. Although the proposed tax changes are likely to face opposition from congressional Republicans and big business, are any of the alternatives better?
After a gradual decade-long democratization process, Myanmar’s military seized power again in February and is waging a ruthless crackdown against unarmed civilian protesters. A major escalation of the ongoing turmoil – civil war is a growing possibility – would have implications far beyond the country’s borders.
As the world strives to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, economists’ efforts to devise strategies to generate inclusive and sustainable prosperity have taken on greater urgency. But those efforts will not succeed unless the profession itself becomes more inclusive – in terms of gender, ethnicity, national origin, and the intellectual assumptions and methods it employs.
Many fear that sharp differences in the speed of vaccine rollouts and the scale of stimulus measures will result in a K-shaped global economic recovery, with much of the developed world booming while poorer countries continue to struggle. But if policymakers are not careful, advanced economies also could experience highly uneven post-pandemic growth.
The European Union’s sluggish COVID-19 vaccination efforts are currently dominating the headlines and undermining confidence in the bloc. But, overall, rich countries remain well ahead of the developing world in the global scramble for supplies – and the longer this imbalance persists, the greater the risk that new coronavirus variants will emerge that can again threaten the world.
The COVID-19 pandemic may be speeding the demise of cash, but it seems premature to declare digital money a winner in the current economic crisis. Many regard privately issued cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin as dangerously volatile, while central bank digital currencies could impose their own unexpected costs and risks on the global monetary system.
Huge fiscal and monetary stimulus programs have sparked a growing debate about whether advanced economies may sooner or later experience the sort of rapid price growth last seen a generation ago. While stimulus advocates point to current weak demand and the public’s deeply ingrained low-inflation expectations, anxious hawks fear that a new and dangerous global inflationary consensus may be taking hold.
Many would regard the middle of a pandemic-induced economic crisis as the wrong time to sound the alarm about the potential dangers of profligate government spending. But as US President Joe Biden’s proposed $1.9 trillion economic rescue plan works its way through Congress, it is not only Republicans who are asking whether providing too much fiscal stimulus could be just as risky as delivering too little.
Although the arrest and hasty imprisonment of opposition leader Alexei Navalny triggered Russia’s biggest wave of protests in years, President Vladimir Putin’s regime appears to be in little danger for now. But a stagnant economy, mounting anger at high-level corruption, and restless political elites could sooner or later threaten Putin’s seemingly well-entrenched regime.
Informal workers comprise about 60% of the global labor force – and a much larger share in emerging and developing economies. Many of them have made essential contributions during the pandemic, but that is no guarantee of improved rights, benefits, and working conditions once the crisis is over.
