CNBC (October 6)
“The world is awash with $152 trillion dollars of debt, according to the IMF, an all-time high which sits at more than double the balance at the start of this century.” In 2002, debt represented 200% of global GDP. At the end of 2015, this figure had risen to 225% and “signifies the extent to which increases in borrowing have outpaced economic growth during the period.”
Tags: Borrowing, Debt, Economic growth, GDP, IMF
National Geographic (August 29)
While much focus is on surging tension with China, “another less publicized, also potentially disastrous, threat looms in the South China Sea: overfishing. This is one of the world’s most important fisheries, employing more than 3.7 million people and bringing in billions of dollars every year. But after decades of free-for-all fishing, dwindling stocks now threaten both the food security and economic growth of the rapidly developing nations that draw on them.”
Tags: China, Developing nations, Disastrous, Economic growth, Food security, Overfishing, South China Sea, Tension, Threat
Wall Street Journal (January 11)
“Beijing’s erratic response to the falling yuan and stock prices has exposed policy disarray. But behind the scenes an important debate has been raging over how to revive economic growth that some analysts believe is below 5%.”
Tags: Beijing, China, Disarray, Economic growth, Erratic, Response, Stock prices, Yuan
Washington Post (August 26)
“First was the dot-com bubble, then the housing bubble. Now comes the commodities bubble.” The stock market’s current turmoil is “driven at least in part by a bubble of raw material prices. Their collapse weighs on world stock markets through fears of slower economic growth and large financial losses.”
Tags: Collapse, Commodities bubble, Dot-com bubble, Economic growth, Housing bubble, Raw material prices, Stock market, Turmoil
The Economist (April 4)
“Poor land use in the world’s greatest cities carries a huge cost.” There isn’t much real shortage of land in even the most heavily populated areas. Instead poor regulations stifle efficient land use. “In the West End of London,” these regulations “inflate the price of office space by about 800%; in Milan and Paris the rules push up prices by around 300%.” But the effect on economic growth is even more profound. “Lifting all the barriers to urban growth in America could raise the country’s GDP by between 6.5% and 13.5%, or by about $1 trillion-2 trillion.”
Tags: Barriers, Cities, Economic growth, GDP, Land use, London, Milan, Paris, Regulations, Shortage, U.S., Urban growth
Wall Street Journal (February 20)
“Wal-Mart’s decision proves that the best way to raise wages is with faster economic growth that creates more demand for labor. Workers can move to better opportunities as more emerge, and their current employers may conclude they have to pay more to keep them.” Wal-Mart will significantly exceed the current U.S. minimum wage of $7.25 when it raises its hourly wage to $9 or more by April and to at least $10 in 2016.
Tags: Demand, Economic growth, Labor, Opportunities, U.S., Wages, Wal-Mart, Workers
New York Times (October 9)
“Large parts of the world seem to be on the verge of a recession. In many countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America, economic growth has already stalled.” Nevertheless, too many officials “are unwilling or ill prepared to respond.” German officials “continue to insist that countries that use the euro meet restrictive fiscal rules” and “officials in Japan, meanwhile, have hurt that economy by raising a sales tax too fast.
Tags: Asia, Economic growth, euro, Europe, Germany, Japan, Latin America, Officials, Recession, Stalled, Tax
Wall Street Journal (March 11)
Japan may be at the leading edge, but population graying is a truly global phenomenon requiring new approaches. “As the over-60 population grows much faster than the younger working-age cohorts, while life expectancy increases, the 20th-century model of work and retirement becomes increasingly unsuitable for economic growth. The key will be finding new solutions to engage older Americans in the workforce.”
Tags: Economic growth, Engage, Graying, Japan, Life expectancy, Over-60, Population, Retirement, Solutions, U.S., Unsuitable, Work, Workforce, Working-age
Chicago Tribune (February 27, 2014)
“Even if climate change turns out to be overblown, there’s no real downside in a carbon tax. We merely would have traded a tax that reduces good things, such as work and investment, for a tax that reduces bad things, such as environmental harms and hazards. If done in a revenue-neutral way, it would more likely speed economic growth than slow it.”
Tags: Carbon tax, Climate change, Downside, Economic growth, Environment, Investment, Overblown, Revenue-neutral, Speed, Work
Institutional Investor (January 6, 2014)
Monetary expansion continues to be the central-bank fashion in much of the developed world. In contrast, the Central Bank of Russia (CBR), “has surprised the market with a hard-line monetary stance.” Instead of stoking short-term economic growth, CBR Governor Elvira Nabiullna is firmly committed to moderating inflation, and “most analysts credit her tight-money policy as the best option under the circumstances.”Monetary expansion continues to be the central-bank fashion in much of the developed world. In contrast, the Central Bank of Russia (CBR), “has surprised the market with a hard-line monetary stance.” Instead of stoking short-term economic growth, CBR Governor Elvira Nabiullna is firmly committed to moderating inflation, and “most analysts credit her tight-money policy as the best option under the circumstances.”
Tags: Analysts, Central Bank of Russia, Economic growth, Elvira Nabiullna, Inflation, Monetary expansion, Monetary policy, Russia, Tight-money policy
