“Very unlikely” current welfare system will survive the Covid-19 pandemic, says new IEA briefing By Dr. Stephen Davies, courtesy of IEA Radical changes to the welfare system are historically associated with major crises and events such as wars, civil unrest, famines or epidemics. There is no reason that it will this time be any different, says a new […]
Author: Erik Sass
Dump anti-business taxes to unleash French potential
“Let’s dismantle our anti-economic taxation before it finishes our economy” By Nicolas Marques, courtesy of Institut économique Molinari The future is particularly worrying for French society. Companies, suffocated by extraordinary taxation and finicky regulations, have structural competitiveness problems. The previous crises have left their mark, with abnormally high unemployment. The coronavirus strikes a weak economy. In the first […]
Why Johnson won’t ask for a Brextension
By Jannike Wachowiak, courtesy of the European Policy Centre By running down the clock and refusing to ask for an extension, Boris Johnson’s hope seems to be to secure concessions from the EU at the last minute. This form of brinkmanship is likely to backfire and increases the chance of no deal. Why an […]
EU Budget: Transfers or low-interest loans?
“Ten questions and answers on the Franco-German proposal” By Jürgen Matthes, courtesy of IW Koeln Germany and France have proposed a European Recovery Fund of €500 billion, based on large loans taken out by the EU to be transferred exclusively as grants to EU member states particularly affected by the COVID-19 crisis. The legal […]
The absurdity of “self-sufficiency”
By Haig Simonian, courtesy of Avenir Suisse Healthcare, travel and education are just three of the areas being reassessed following the COVID-19 outbreak. Most momentous of all, however, is the worldwide rethink about globalization. Come a global disruptor like the corona virus, and the elaborate supply chains developed by industry over recent years […]
Why do Argentines save in dollars?
By Libertad y Progreso, courtesy of Ámbito Financiero “Whoever bets on the dollar loses.” This famous phrase was said by former Minister of Economy Lorenzo Sigaut in 1981, to try to convince Argentines to stop saving in dollars. As expected, reality prevailed with an exchange rate escalation. Today the BCRA is […]
Europe needs a plan to redevelop coal regions
By Christian Egenhofer, Jorge Núñez Ferrer, and Irina Kustova, courtesy of the Center for European Policy Studies The economic slow-down caused by the pandemic will aggravate the existing stress in some regions, especially those relying on lignite, coal and peat as their main economic activity. But efficient and effective use of COVID-19 recovery funds […]
COVID-19’s reality shock for external-funding dependent emerging economies
By Alicia García-Herrero and Elina Ribakova, courtesy of the Bruegel Institute COVID-19 is by far the biggest challenge policymakers in emerging economies have had to deal with in recent history. Beyond the potentially large negative impact on these countries’ fiscal accounts, and the related solvency issues, worsening conditions for these countries’ external funding are […]
Washington Beyond the Headlines: Admin Has Chopped 570 Regulations
By Andy Blom, TES Washington Editor America is opening up! Kind of. Different states, curiously reflecting their red/blue political leadership, are opening at different paces. Except, of course, for the House of Representatives which apparently feels that the best way to represent the American people is to not go to work. Oh well, that’s […]
China is wrecking Hong Kong, but tariffs won’t help
By Daniel Griswold, courtesy of the Mercatus Center One of humankind’s most dazzling and successful experiments in political economy is coming to an end. For the second half of the 20th century, Hong Kong prospered as an enclave of economic and civil freedom under the benign administration of the United Kingdom, but that freedom may […]