“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 […]
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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. […]
Trade uncertainty slowing global economy
“A Fear of Regime Change is Slowing the Global Economy” By Uri Dadush, courtesy of Bruegel Institute Global GDP has slowed sharply, from near 4% in late 2017 to half that rate on an annualised basis in recent quarters. The downturn in fortunes over the last two years has come as a big surprise. […]
Blocking GM crops has killed, blinded millions of children
It’s an article of faith among many environmentalists that genetically modified (GM) foods are bad. Why? Apparently because they came out a laboratory and science is bad (never mind that virtually all the foods we already eat were already genetically modified, by painstaking selective breeding by our ancestors over thousands of years). Of […]
Telehealth can help America get back to work quicker
By Davis Warnell and Andrea O’Sullivan, courtesy of the Mercatus Center When employees get sick, it’s like their companies get a little sick, too. Employee health can have dramatic impacts on company productivity. The Integrated Benefits Institute estimates that poor employee health imposes $880 billion in annual costs, which includes a $530 billion deficit […]
Brexit: Now it’s time to wait
By Anthony Egan, courtesy of Open Europe Earlier this week, Parliament voted in favour of the Withdrawal Agreement Bill in principle but rejected the Government’s timetable for scrutinising the Bill and final vote. While the Bill has cleared the first hurdle to ratification, which would secure the UK’s negotiated departure from the EU, […]
Argentina’s New Look: Get ready for a haircut, bondholders
Argentina’s likely next president, Alberto Fernandez, has signaled his intention to “restructure” the country’s debt, meaning another selective default following the one already imposed by current president Maurico Macri in August. The terms currently proposed by Fernandez, who is widely expected to win the country’s next election slated to begin October 27, involve […]