Worldcrunch
For the first time, countries are growing richer, but their people are not. Income and wealth inequality not only skew per capita averages, they make economies seem healthier than they are. In short, they reflect realities of a few, at a huge cost to others.
Will Trump be the American Gorbachev? It’s now or never for Europe to catch up with the United States’ economy, if the European Central Bank is willing to show the way, says economist Nicolas Goetzmann.
Europeans are coming to grips with a harsh reality: The United States is no longer the guardian ensuring the continent’s security — worse, it may have even turned into an outright adversary. Nothing underscores this shift more than the U.S. vote at the United Nations on Ukraine, siding with Russia and standing against EU nations.
As Western sanctions have proven ineffective, Russian economy has been growing, along with defense and security expenditures. The world’s singular superpower in Washington has three cards it could pull to squeeze the invading country. Yet something is holding it back.
On paper, the scale of sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine is unprecedented. But opinion on the impact of sanctions remains divided in the absence of a reliable scientific foundation. A new study by Bank of Canada offers a way out.
The West is losing influence on many fronts, embodied in the rise of the BRICS alliance as a kind of “counter-G7.” But Western leaders will need to decide if they want to be part of this change, or its victim.
The projections from the United Nations Population Division for African demographics reveal some striking figures. And it’s up to leaders to turn it into economic growth and social vitality.
Algeria faces a real risk or going bankrupt by 2029. How did it come to this, in one of the world’s leading hydrocarbon producers?
Kyiv wants the West to hit at the heart of the Russian economy, especially its energy exports, as the best weapon Ukraine and its allies may have. But with the EU preparing its 7th package of sanctions, it must strike a delicate balance as the global economy is on the brink of a major crisis.
Many people have had to tighten their purse strings in recent years. But that’s only part of what’s fueling frustrations in the region.
-Analysis- NEW YORK — What a difference two decades make. In 1997, China’s gross domestic product was about 11% of the U.S’s. By 2017, it was up to 63%. But this overstates the difference in living standards between the two countries, since prices are generally lower in China. In purchasing-power-parity terms, China’s economy became the world’s largest in about 2013. So which country’s economy is really bigger? The truth probably lies somewhere between these two figures. If China were to abolish its capital controls and open its currency to foreign speculation, there’s a good chance the yuan would rise in […]
Jair Bolsonaro is threatening to curtail rights and liberties, and bring the army back into politics. He’s also the front-runner heading into Sunday’s presidential election.
-OpEd- KALAMAZOO — People from China who travel abroad are struck by the stark differences between their countries. In the U.S. and Europe, they probably envy how people live in comfort and are rich enough to engage in arts and public service. These countries in general have more honest and transparent governments, as well as […]
HONG KONG — Just when China’s economy seemed to be stabilizing, Donald Trump’s election as U.S. president poses significant new risks. Not just for Chinese growth, but the entire Asia region. That’s because the president-elect campaigned on a policy platform with protectionism at its center. Trump wants to slap punitive tariffs on Chinese goods and label the world’s No. 2 economy a currency manipulator. Such a move would hurt Chinese exports. But it could also trigger a trade war if Beijing retaliates, catching other Asian economies in the crossfire. Other worries: A planned major regional trade pact, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, […]
-Analysis- MEXICO CITY — Republican nominee Donald Trump’s continuing tirade against Mexicans have set off alarms on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. But are his prejudices rooted in any fact? Not at all, if you consider recent studies that measure contributions made by Mexican immigrants in the U.S. One study by Mexican economist J. […]
Things may be looking up for the South American giant, provided it can weather the unpredictable Dilma Rousseff impeachment process.
-Editorial- SAO PAULO — We Brazilians have rarely faced an economic downturn of this magnitude. From April 2014 to September 2015, the country’s GDP contracted by 5.8%, and there are no signs that a turnaround is forthcoming. We haven’t seen anything like it since the “lost decade” that began in the early 1980s or, before […]
Brazilian governments again are guilty of spending too much when exports and revenues were booming. A view from neighboring Argentina, where bad economics is endemic.
SHANGHAI — The most important recent piece of economic data in Shanghai is the number that’s missing. At the annual new year session of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress, the megacity chose not to set an annual GDP growth target, an unprecedented move for a country where local governments’ political performances are largely tied directly […]
As prices on oil and other raw materials drop, the cycle of what some call “macroeconomic populism” is hitting a rather tough patch, especially for Argentina and Venezuela.
France knows the place, China has the money, and now a major joint investment fund for Africa is in the works between Paris and Beijing to help drive the continent’s economic expansion.
The “black market” accounts for a quarter of Mexico’s GDP and employs more than half its workforce. The numbers illustrate a failure of public policy and raise a red flag for the future.
YEREVAN — There used to be trains that connected Moscow and Armenia’s capital of Yerevan. But for different reasons, mostly an array of regional tensions in former Soviet republics, Armenia is no longer connected to Russia by rail. To get to Yerevan from Moscow, you can either drive for 48 hours through the North Caucasus […]
A professor at the London School of Economics argues that the free market and everything we thought we knew about economics are now irrelevant.
As the Brazil’s “commodities supercycle” grinds to a halt, Dilma Rousseff’s economic policy has failed to find a new path. Is World Cup excitement enough to avoid a national bust?
The migration of rural population into Chinese cities is seen by some as the way to ensure a new burst of economic growth. But urbanization-by-state-planning is not the right road.
BEIJING — Last month, Chinese leader Xi Jinping gave a speech and released a document to local authorities reaffirming a key new reform message: From now on, “officials should no longer blindly compare only their GDP when it comes to performance and success.” Xi added that “the problem of “GDP-based promotions’ shall be rectified.” His […]
A poor education ranking in the latest international PISA report failed to humble the country’s top education official, who instead hailed the outcome as a “great triumph.”
The roots of the Gross Domestic Product measurement of economic health are in World War II. Even in 1968, RFK had doubts, and now criticism is growing about GDP’s real value.
BEIJING — China’s automobile market is now expected to see double-digit growth by the end of this year, after two consecutive years’ of relatively low growth. According to data published last week by the China Automobile Association, for the first 10 months of 2013, China’s car sales totaled 17.8 million vehicles, with a growth rate […]
The United Nations just released its World Happiness Report, ranking China No. 93. Denmark is the winner, and the U.S. finishes at a respectable No. 17.
THE LOCAL (Germany), LES ECHOS (France) Worldcrunch BRUSSELS – Data released Wednesday showed the economies of Germany and France grew faster than expected between April and the end of June, raising hopes for a recovery across Europe. The new figures show that Germany enjoyed its fastest growth in more than a year in the second […]
FRANCE 24, BLOOMBERG, REUTERS Worldcrunch BERLIN/PARIS – France slipped into recession while Germany’s economy expanded by a fraction, according to European economy data published on Wednesday. Statistics showed the forecasts for Europe’s two biggest economies were weaker than expected. The German GDP increased about 0.1% from the fourth quarter while the French economy contracted by […]
Too many Chinese have taken their pursuit of happiness to the United States, and elsewhere in the West. China must ask itself why are there still so many good reasons for leaving.
–Editorial- BEIJING – It is a well-known fact that Chinese people don’t like to spend money. Since the 1998 financial crisis, China’s policy makers have been trying to expand domestic demand, and in particular Chinese consumption, to let the “caged tiger” loose. In other words, it is time that people dig into their savings. Since […]
-Essay- WARSAW – Poland has always lacked capital for important investments. The roads have always been bad, muddy, full of ruts and potholes. We have great universities, but they are woefully underfunded. In Poland there have always been “islands of modernity in a sea of backwardness,” according to economic historian Witold Kula. In this sense, […]
AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW, SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, AAP (Australia) Worldcrunch SYDNEY – It’s not called the “Lucky Country” for nothing. Australia’s resource-rich economy continued to expand last quarter, extending the country’s run of 21 years of uninterrupted growth. Fourth-quarter GDP grew by 0.6% from the previous quarter, and 3.1% from a year earlier according to the […]
The Occupy Movement began on Wall Street by the so-called 99% shut out from economic growth. But Latin America’s income gap mirrors the U.S. In Chile, it is particularly extreme.
GDP v. Happy Planet Index? Some New Year’s number crunching from Moscow, comparing life in cold and warm climates, rich and poor countries, free and less free societies.
Lately, it seems like the whole world is finding fault with the French. Ratings agency Moody has downgraded France and the International Monetary Fund, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the European Commission have all acknowledged that the country needs to undertake critical economic reforms to avoid decline. The so-called “Five Wise Men” […]