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Simon Johnson

Simon Johnson

Writing for PS since 2007
179 commentaries

Simon Johnson, a 2024 Nobel laureate in economics and a former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, is a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, Faculty Director of MIT’s Shaping the Future of Work initiative, and Co-Chair of the CFA Institute Systemic Risk Council. He is a co-author (with Daron Acemoglu) of Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity (PublicAffairs, 2023). 

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  1. Trump Can Win Against China – in Ukraine
    johnson181_Alexander ManzyukAnadolu Agency via Getty Images_russian oil Alexander Manzyuk/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

    Trump Can Win Against China – in Ukraine

    Nov 25, 2024 Simon Johnson & Oleg Ustenko argue that forcing Russia to withdraw would yield a clearer win for the US than tariffs on Chinese imports.

  2. Only Harris Will Deliver Shared Prosperity
    johnson180_JIM WATSONAFP via Getty Images_kamala harris JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images

    Only Harris Will Deliver Shared Prosperity

    Nov 1, 2024 Simon Johnson says that Donald Trump’s discredited protectionism would benefit the few at the expense of the many.

  3. Trump’s Proposed Tariffs Are a Gift to the Rich
    krueger52_FREDERIC J. BROWNAFP via Getty Images_shipping port us FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images

    Trump’s Proposed Tariffs Are a Gift to the Rich

    Oct 7, 2024 Simon Johnson cites research showing that middle-class US households would foot the bill.

  4. How to Create More Good Jobs
    bildt104_Doug MillsPoolGetty Images_semiconductors Doug Mills/Pool/Getty Images

    How to Create More Good Jobs

    Aug 2, 2024 Simon Johnson touts the 2022 US CHIPS and Science Act, which will nurture geographically dispersed innovation hubs.

  5. Human Capital for the Age of Generative AI
    palacio140_Getty Images_AI Getty Images

    Human Capital for the Age of Generative AI

    May 30, 2024 Simon Johnson & Eric Hazan explain how adoption of the technology could help suitably qualified workers climb the wage ladder.

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  1. suluhuhassan2_In Pictures Ltd.Corbis via Getty Images_africasolar In Pictures Ltd./Corbis via Getty Images
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    What the G20 Can Do for Africa’s Energy Agenda

    Samia Suluhu Hassan explains how climate finance could unleash the continent's economic potential.
  2. akufoaddo2_ CRISTINA ALDEHUELAAFP via Getty Images_ghanavaccine Cristina Aldehuela/AFP via Getty Images
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    The Key to Africa’s Vaccine Sovereignty

    Nana Akufo-Addo urges donor governments to build on successful efforts to boost immunization across the continent.
  3. gill9_Alet PretoriusGallo Images via Getty Images_africadebt Alet Pretorius/Gallo Images via Getty Images
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    For Developing Economies, the Finance Landscape Has Become a Wasteland

    Indermit Gill shows that current conditions give the world's poorest countries no chance to achieve sustained growth.
  4. velasco154_ SAUL LOEBAFP via Getty Images_trump SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images
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    How Not to React to Donald Trump

    Andrés Velasco calls for more serious thinking by progressives and fewer knee-jerk calls to “abandon neoliberalism.”
  5. acemoglu81_Kent NishimuraGettyImages_capitol_post_protest Kent Nishimura/Getty Images
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    The Fall and Rise of American Democracy

    Daron Acemoglu

    Over time, as American democracy has increasingly fallen short of delivering on its core promises, the Democratic Party has contributed to the problem by catering to a narrow, privileged elite. To restore its own prospects and America’s signature form of governance, it must return to its working-class roots.

     is not surprised that so many voters ignored warnings about the threat Donald Trump poses to US institutions.
  6. GettyImages-876226276
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    Enrique Krauze on Baruch Spinoza, the US election, Mexican democracy, and more

    Enrique Krauze considers the responsibility of the state to guarantee freedom, heralds the demise of Mexico’s democracy, highlights flaws in higher-education systems, and more.
  7. khrushcheva188_Chris McGrathGetty Images_ukraine Chris McGrath/Getty Images
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    Does a Savage War of Partition Await Ukraine?

    Nina L. Khrushcheva

    Donald Trump appears bent on striking a “peace” deal with Russia that involves Ukraine’s dismemberment. From Poland in the eighteenth century to the Indian subcontinent in the twentieth, history amply demonstrates that the kind of partition this implies is likely to bring horrifying violence and long-lasting enmity.

     traces the grim history of territorial divisions like the one that Donald Trump seems to be envisioning.
  8. varoufakis121_Justin SullivanGettyImages_chinese_conainers_oakland Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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    America’s Trade Deficit Is Not Afraid of Donald Trump

    Yanis Varoufakis shows why the incoming US administration can’t eliminate the negative balance – and wouldn’t even if it could.
  9. kuttab60_CHANDAN KHANNAAFP via Getty Images_trumpisrael Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images
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    Trump’s Middle East Challenge

    Daoud Kuttab highlights the changes in the region that will complicate the US president-elect's peacemaking efforts.

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