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Benjamin A. Olken

Benjamin A. Olken

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Benjamin A. Olken, Professor of Economics at MIT, is Director of MIT’s Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab.

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  1. Spend Fossil-Fuel Subsidies on Pandemic Relief and the Poor
    basri1_Qamar SibtainIndia Today GroupGetty Images_indiagasstationfuel Qamar Sibtain/India Today Group/Getty Images
    Free to read

    Spend Fossil-Fuel Subsidies on Pandemic Relief and the Poor

    May 19, 2020 M. Chatib Basri, et al. argue that rock-bottom oil prices give many countries a unique opportunity to abandon an obsolete policy.

  2. Cushioning the Poor from the COVID-19 Shock
    hanna2_INDRANIL MUKHERJEEAFP via Getty Images_coronavirussignindiacooperation Indranil Mukherjee/AFP via Getty Images

    Cushioning the Poor from the COVID-19 Shock

    Apr 15, 2020 Rema N. Hanna & Benjamin A. Olken suggest how developing economies can combat the pandemic and mitigate the impact on the most vulnerable.

  1. rodrik209_Helen H. RichardsonMediaNews GroupThe Denver Post via Getty Images_inflationreductionact Helen H. Richardson/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images
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    National Sovereignty’s Silver Lining

    Dani Rodrik

    Despite the dire predictions that have accompanied the decline of global governance, less international cooperation does not necessarily mean disaster. In fact, national governments can prioritize domestic prosperity and social cohesion over multilateralism without harming the global economy.

     explains how countries can help the global economy by pursuing their own economic-policy agendas.
  2. khrushcheva167_SERGEI ILNITSKYPOOLAFP via Getty Image_prigozhin Sergei Ilnitsky/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
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    Russia’s New Rasputin

    Nina L. Khrushcheva suggests that Yevgeny Prigozhin's escalating attacks on the country's elites reflect the regime's decadence.
  3. fofack17_LUDOVIC MARINAFP via Getty Images_macron LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images
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    Macron and the Future of Françafrique

    Hippolyte Fofack urges France to abandon its extractive colonial model as it seeks to rebalance relations with the continent.
  4. op_michnik5_ Piotr LapinskiNurPhoto via Getty Images_polandprotestdonaldtusk Piotr Lapinski/NurPhoto via Getty Images
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    The View from Poland

    Adam Michnik interviewed by Irena Grudzińska Gross

    Although Russia's war in Ukraine has galvanized Polish society and elevated the country's status internationally, it is also obscuring some deeply troubling domestic political developments. Whether liberal democracy will prevail over reactionary authoritarianism in Poland is now an open question.

     about recent domestic and geopolitical developments that will shape the country's future.
  5. buruma200_Omer MessingerGetty Images_turkish voting erdogan Omer Messinger/Getty Images
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    Nationalists Abroad

    Ian Buruma explains how displacement can make expatriates and minorities more susceptible to extremist ideologies.
  6. maude1_ROSLAN RAHMANAFP via Getty Images_chinadefenseminister Roslan Rahman/AFP via Getty Images
    2

    All Talk, No Dialogue on Asian Security

    Richard Maude considers the implications of the complete collapse of defense diplomacy between the US and China.
  7. gomera6_wayraGetty Images_AIsustainability wayra/Getty Images
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    How AI Can Even the Climate Playing Field

    Maxwell Gomera shows how artificial intelligence can strengthen low-income countries' hand in global negotiations.
  8. owhite8_cemagraphicsGetty Images_worldeconomy cemagraphics/Getty Images
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    Strengthening the Global Balance Sheet

    Olivia White, et al. outline four medium-term scenarios for the world economy, each implying dramatically different outcomes.
  9. gorodnichenko6rtur WidakNurPhoto via Getty Images_russian culture Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images
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    The Ukraine-Russia Culture War

    Yuriy Gorodnichenko & Ilona Sologoub survey the heated battles that have been playing out far from the physical battlefield.

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