Global growth generators: Moving beyond emerging markets and BRICs
Buiter, Wilem & Rahbari, Ebrahim. Which countries will drive growth for the next 40 years? In Policy Insight 55 Citi economists Willem Buiter and Ebrahim Rahbari investigate the likely future sources of global economic growth between 2010 and 2050. The drivers of economic growth in the world economy have been studied by economists since political […]
What are fiscal councils, and what do they do?
Calmfors, Lars & Wren-Lewis, Simon. Fiscal councils are independent bodies set up by governments to evaluate fiscal policy. As problems with debt and deficits have taken hold, they have become increasingly popular. This column looks at what existing councils do and what dangers they face. It argues that, with the right guarantees of their independence in place, […]
Democracy or Finance?
Skidelsky, Robert. “Shorting” is a tactic well known among the financial cognoscenti. It means betting against an asset with borrowed money in the expectation of making a profit when its value goes down. A speculator can “short” a government by borrowing its debt at its current price, in the hope of selling it later at […]
Will cutting GP and lawyer fees help Ireland?
Kinsella, Stephen. This week, the head of the EU’s mission to Ireland, Dr Istvan Szekely, mentioned repeatedly in public that protected professions such as medicine, pharmacy, and law would face changes, which would open them up, dropping prices for consumers, removing the ability of professions to charge higher-than-average fees for their services. The predictable howl […]