Ricardo Hausmann, a former minister of planning of Venezuela and former Chief Economist of the Inter-American Development Bank, is Director of the Center for International Development at Harvard University and a professor of economics at the Harvard Kennedy School.
With per capita GDP down by 40% since 2013, Venezuela’s economic catastrophe dwarfs any in the history of the US, Western Europe, or the rest of Latin America. And yet headline GDP numbers actually un… read more
On whose behalf do business associations speak? It’s an increasingly urgent question, because while firms have radically changed how they think about themselves, business associations have yet to catc… read more
Investing often creates a dilemma over goals: Should we aim to do well or to do good? Nowadays, it is emerging markets as an asset class that should make people morally queasy, owing to Venezuela's ou… read more
Any economy’s success is heavily influenced by the performance of that sliver of activities that sells its products to outsiders. And what is true for countries is true for states, cities, and towns, … read more
In his recent State of the Nation Address, South African President Jacob Zuma seemed to be calling for a radical redistribution of assets in his country. But any effort along these lines could destroy… read more
Two possible reasons, based on recent advances in psychology and neuroscience, may explain why Americans and Canadians are reacting so differently to asylum-seekers. In particular, US President Donald… read more
The theme of this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, is “Responsible and Responsive Leadership.” But one possible reading of Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election is t… read more
All governments lie, and some even believe their own lies; but things get dangerous when a government acts in order to be true to its lies. This is the trap into which the Venezuelan government has fa… read more
US President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign narrative was based on the assumption that the US has fallen from its former greatness, and that "America first" policies and opportunistic deal-making will … read more
