Skip to main content
Access provided by

Simon Johnson

Simon Johnson

Writing for PS since 2007
174 commentaries

Simon Johnson, 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). 

Sort by: Show:
  1. History Already Tells Us the Future of AI
    acemoglu72_ Hulton ArchiveGetty Images_cottonhandweaving Hulton Archive/Getty Images

    History Already Tells Us the Future of AI

    Apr 23, 2024 Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson find policy lessons for the 2020s in the work of the early-nineteenth-century economist David Ricardo.

  2. Russian Revisionism and the Sources of Western Weakness
    johnson175_ Alexander ManzyukAnadolu Agency via Getty Images_russian oil Alexander Manzyuk/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

    Russian Revisionism and the Sources of Western Weakness

    Apr 2, 2024 Simon Johnson & Oleg Ustenko explain why Vladimir Putin’s effort to revise the post-Cold War geopolitical order could succeed.

  3. Putin’s Silk Road Around Sanctions
    rbrooks1_Markus Scholzpicture alliance via Getty Images_germanyshipping Markus Scholz/picture alliance via Getty Images

    Putin’s Silk Road Around Sanctions

    Feb 29, 2024 Robin Brooks & Simon Johnson urge Europe and the G7 to stop the re-export of Western goods to Russia from Central Asia and the Caucasus.

  4. Dark Offshore Money Threatens Democracy
    james173_Getty Images_offshore accounts Getty Images

    Dark Offshore Money Threatens Democracy

    Jan 2, 2024 Simon Johnson & Daron Acemoglu call for a crackdown on the dozens of tax havens around the world and reform of financial secrecy laws.

  5. Kissinger’s Opening to China Will Haunt American Politics in 2024
    acemoglu67_Getty Images_kissinger china Getty Images

    Kissinger’s Opening to China Will Haunt American Politics in 2024

    Dec 15, 2023 Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson show how US economic policies based solely on realpolitik have backfired but still cast a shadow.

Follow Simon Johnson

Never miss a commentary by Simon Johnson

  1. kirchschlager1_Fatih AktasAnadolu Agency via Getty Images_AI Fatih AktasAnadolu Agency via Getty Images
    0

    AI Needs UN Oversight

    Peter G. Kirchschläger calls for the creation of a watchdog – similar to the IAEA – that employs a human rights-based approach.
  2. chellaney_VCGVCG via Getty Images_china military VCG/VCG via Getty Images
    0

    The West Is Hastening Its Own Decline

    Brahma Chellaney argues that the unprecedented US and European sanctions against Russia are backfiring.
  3. zizek29_Sebastian Gollnowpicture alliance via Getty Images_palestine congress germany Sebastian Gollnowpicture alliance via Getty Images
    0

    Canceling Palestine

    Slavoj Žižek

    Current debates about Israeli policy are rife with double standards, leading to absurd decisions like Germany’s recent cancellation of a pro-Palestinian gathering. By quashing legitimate speech and assembly, an Israel-aligned establishment risks inciting precisely the kind of anti-Semitism that it wants to prevent.

     worries that the double standards applied on Israel’s behalf will lead to an anti-Semitic backlash.
  4. ackerman2_Brian van der Brug Los Angeles Times via Getty Images_preschool Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
    0

    America’s Childcare Is Unfit for the Postmodern Age

    Bruce Ackerman urges US President Joe Biden to put universal preschool at the center of his re-election campaign.
  5. acemoglu72_ Hulton ArchiveGetty Images_cottonhandweaving Hulton Archive/Getty Images
    0

    History Already Tells Us the Future of AI

    Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson find policy lessons for the 2020s in the work of the early-nineteenth-century economist David Ricardo.
  6. silber3_William Thomas CainGetty Images_trumpplazahotel William Thomas Cain/Getty Images
    0

    Trump and the Risk of a US Debt Default

    William L. Silber thinks the former president would be even more reckless if awarded another term this year.
  7. lboone2_Celestino ArceNurPhoto via Getty Images_ukraine Celestino Arce/NurPhoto via Getty Images
    0

    Europe’s Red Tape Is Helping Russia

    Laurence Boone & Nicu Popescu propose a European Defense Production Act to help fast-track processes for public procurement and spending.
  8. posner31_Spencer PlattGetty Images_trumptrial Spencer Platt/Getty Images
    0

    What to Look for in Trump’s First Trial

    Eric Posner

    The intricate legal issues and colorful characters in Donald Trump's criminal trials will undoubtedly keep the media and the viewing public enraptured for months to come. But when it comes to the 2024 election, all that really matters is how the defendant appears to a narrow sliver of undecided voters.

     points out that optics, more than the law or the facts, will be what matters most for the election.
  9. nixonsaintil2_shark_749Getty Images_AIdataclimatecity shark_749/Getty Images
    0

    AI Holds the Key to Resilient Cities

    Justina Nixon-Saintil surveys the technology's foreseeable applications in promoting urban sustainable development.

Edit Newsletter Preferences

Set up Notification

To receive email updates regarding this {entity_type}, please enter your email below.

If you are not already registered, this will create a PS account for you. You should receive an activation email shortly.