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Simon Johnson

Simon Johnson

Writing for PS since 2007
162 commentaries

Simon Johnson, a former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, is a professor at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, a co-chair of the COVID-19 Policy Alliance, and a co-chair of the CFA Institute Systemic Risk Council. He is the co-author (with Daron Acemoglu) of the forthcoming Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity (PublicAffairs, May 2023).

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  1. Simon Johnson on stablecoins, artificial intelligence, inequality, and more
    GettyImages-1472273336

    Simon Johnson on stablecoins, artificial intelligence, inequality, and more

    May 9, 2023 Simon Johnson explains why a moratorium on advanced-AI development would do little good, pours cold water on the prevailing techno-optimist narrative, makes the case for scrapping payroll taxes, and more.

  2. Learning to Squeeze Russia’s Energy Revenues
    johnson162_Patrick Pleulpicture alliance via Getty Images_oil Patrick Pleul/picture alliance via Getty Images

    Learning to Squeeze Russia’s Energy Revenues

    Apr 4, 2023 Simon Johnson, et al. show that Western measures to cut the Kremlin's proceeds from oil and gas exports are working as intended.

  3. How to Fix the Platform Economy
    acemoglu57_ChesnotGetty Images_big tech Chesnot/Getty Images

    How to Fix the Platform Economy

    Mar 13, 2023 Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson propose new policy interventions to shift the industry away from its socially destructive business model.

  4. Are Russian Oil Prices Being Rigged?
    johnson160_ARUN SANKARAFP via Getty Images_russiaoilbarrels Arun Sankar/AFP via Getty Images

    Are Russian Oil Prices Being Rigged?

    Mar 1, 2023 Simon Johnson urges the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission to investigate reports of price manipulation.

  5. What’s Wrong with ChatGPT?
    acemoglu56_NICOLAS MAETERLINCKBELGA MAGAFP via Getty Images_chatgpt NICOLAS MAETERLINCK/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images

    What’s Wrong with ChatGPT?

    Feb 6, 2023 Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson worry that the technology will be deployed to replace, rather than empower, humans.

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  1. galbraith25_Win McNameeGetty Images_mccarthy Win McNamee/Getty Images
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    The Democrats’ Disastrous Debt Deal

    James K. Galbraith decries the party’s willingness to play along with the Republicans’ bad-faith politicking.
  2. jahmed1_LAURIE DIEFFEMBACQBelgaAFP via Getty Images_biotech LAURIE DIEFFEMBACQ/Belga/AFP via Getty Images
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    Building a Biotech Alliance of Democracies

    Jafer Ahmad & Abigail Kukura explains how the US and its allies and partners can maintain leadership in a strategically vital sector.
  3. gros175_MICHAEL URBANDDPAFP via Getty Images_ccs MICHAEL URBAN/DDP/AFP via Getty Images
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    The Transatlantic Carbon-Pricing Clash

    Daniel Gros predicts that the opposing approaches taken by the US and the EU will lead to trade and political frictions.
  4. zadek27_AngoumaAfrikImagesUniversal Images Group via Getty Images_macron forst Angouma/AfrikImages/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
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    The Geopolitics of Nature

    Simon Zadek highlights the fatal flaw in green “solutions” like the EU’s new deforestation legislation.
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    Joseph S. Nye, Jr., on Chinese power, US politics, the new cold war, and more

    Joseph S. Nye, Jr. considers how China undermines its own soft power, traces the potential causes of a war over Taiwan, welcomes Europe’s embrace of “smart” power, and more.
  6. soros122_ARIS MESSINISAFP via Getty Images_ukrainewar Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images
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    Can Democracy Survive the Polycrisis?

    George Soros

    Around the world, people increasingly live with the sense that too much is happening, too fast. Chief among the sources of this growing angst are the rise of artificial intelligence, climate change, and Russia's war in Ukraine – each of which demands urgent attention from policymakers and political leaders.

     calls attention to the growing challenges posed by AI, climate change, and the war in Ukraine.
  7. delong252_ Spencer PlattGetty Images_USinequality Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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    Can America Escape Its Second Gilded Age?

    J. Bradford DeLong recalls how the country overcame a previous era of extreme income and wealth inequality.
  8. palacio145_JAVIER SORIANOAFP via Getty Images_sanchez JAVIER SORIANO/AFP via Getty Images
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    Can Spain Show European Leadership?

    Ana Palacio worries that a snap election will undermine the effectiveness of the country’s Council of the EU presidency.
  9. sarukhan1_TON MOLINAAFP via Getty Images TON MOLINA/AFP via Getty Images
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    Quo Vadis, Latin America?

    Arturo Sarukhan wonders whether the inevitable changes that lie ahead will bring democratic decay or renewal.

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