“UK Election Could Open Door for an Ambitious US-UK Trade Agreement” By Daniel Griswold, courtesy of the Mercatus Center The British Parliament voted this week to hold a national election on December 12. If the Conservative Party holds on to its lead in the polls, the results could deliver an early Christmas […]
Author: Erik Sass
French motorists and smokers are “cash cows”
“Tax on fuel and cigarettes – How the motorist and the smoker were transformed into ‘cash cows’ with €60 billion taxes” Courtesy of the Molinari Economic Institute The taxation of fuel and cigarettes is particularly hard to understand for the general public, but also for specialists. The price of these products includes specific […]
Argentina’s bankruptcy assured, could default to IMF
“Argentina – ninth national bankruptcy is imminent” By Angelica Dominguez-Cardoza and Cristoph Trebesch, courtesy of IfW Kiel As Argentina’s elections were set to begin Sunday, the state is headed for yet another bankruptcy. The government has borrowed nearly $45 billion overseas in just two years. The country’s debt ratio has nearly doubled since 2015 to […]
Entrepreneurship helped improve senior care, reduced costs in Canada
“Does Entrepreneurship Make a Difference in Health Care? The Case of Private Funded CHSLDs” By Patrick Déry, courtesy of MEI What does entrepreneurship contribute to health care? Despite the example of Europe, where companies have long had a large role to play within universal systems, simply posing this question in Canada can elicit strong […]
How should small countries navigate a “tripolar” world?
“The political dimension of a Swiss-US trade agreement” By Jennifer Anthamatten and Patrick Dümmler, courtesy of Avenir Suisse In the last two decades, global trade flows have shifted markedly, and the current geopolitical structure is in transition. The time in which there was an undisputed hegemon seems to be ending. Instead, a future […]
Even after Brexit deal and election, UK will face hard questions
“Even with a deal, even with an election, these Brexit questions will still need to be answered” By Helen Parr, courtesy of UK In a Changing Europe Brexit seems deadlocked after the House of Commons voted in favour of Boris Johnson’s withdrawal agreement, but against the timetable to push the legislation through before 31 […]
Indoor air pollution hampers cognition
“Indoor air pollution hampers cognitive performance” Courtesy of IZA Poor air quality not only affects population health but also human cognition, according to a new IZA discussion paper by Steffen Künn, Juan Palacios, and Nico Pestel. The study investigates the impact of air quality on the performance of chess players at tournaments over a three-year period under different levels of […]
Spain will reach 1-to-1 dependency ratio by 2050
“The Price of Raising Pensions” By Francisco Coll Morales, courtesy of Civismo In recent weeks columns of retirees, all pensioners, have begun marching from different parts of the country to the same destination: the Congress of Deputies, in Madrid. The purpose of this march is to demand that the government of Spain increase […]
The Jones Act continues to make no sense at all
“Why Is an Energy Powerhouse Importing Russian LNG?” By Colin Grabow, courtesy of Cato Institute In the coming days a Spanish-flagged ship, the Catalunya Spirit, will deliver a shipment of Russia-originated liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Puerto Rico. Bizarrely, the United States—a leading exporter of LNG—is nonetheless importing it from a geopolitical rival. And this isn’t a first. […]