Vitamin AAA Deficiency

The releasing of the US federal budget for 2011 has unleashed a vivid debate about not only the size of the projected deficits, but also the lack of government effort to reduce it. As Congress has proven incapable of raising taxes, this means the US will be heavily indebted for a generation at least.

Bubble Troubles?

Unlike its Western counterparts, the Chinese economy proved resilient during the global financial crisis. This performance is widely attributed to a massive stimulus package concocted by the government and the easing of credit conditions during the crisis. As expectations about over capacity in the medium and long-run slowly kick-in, however, the optimism seems to be fading away.

Thanks, But No Thanks!

The end result of the Iraqi oil auctions was unforeseeable a few years ago. While European, Asian and even African companies rushed to guarantee a share of the cake, American companies did not bother to bid for the bounty.

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The Economics of Terror

By providing communities with important benefits in exchange for their support, violent radical groups are able to develop into highly efficient terrorist organizations. There is thus an important economic factor that comes into play with regards to the success of violent organizations. These groups are organized in such a way that the relationship to the communities they serve is dependent upon mutual aid, and this has important implications for counter-terrorism strategies that seek to limit their progress.

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The Young and The Jobless

Despite all the advantages its oil reserves and economic wealth brings, Saudi Arabia suffers from a serious, albeit common, disease: youth unemployment. Much effort has been put in tackling this issue producing encouraging results. Much still needs to be done to solve this problem affecting not only the young fractions of the labour force, but also the development of the economy as a whole.

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Of Trojans and Climate Change

Of late, climate change seems to have become the primary concern of most governments worldwide. The issue appears in an increasing number of speeches by heads of state, very often on thoroughly unrelated topics. Most of the time, however, this near omnipresence is symptomatic of the use of climate change to pursue non-environmental agendas in an ad hoc and inefficient way. A way of countering this tendency is the development of cap-and-trade schemes.

Putting the House in Order

Although there has been encouraging progress in Syria’s economic reform, much still needs to be done. Public sector privatization, economic deregulation and more transparency in the policymaking process still constitute important obstacles for speeding economic development and growth. Given the current international economic context, the solution may be found in regional and bilateral integration

Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover

Beyond its face value, the global financial crisis has upset the balance in the realm of economic ideas. Ideas once enshrined as quasi truisms have now lost ground to opinions once held at the farthest fringes of the discipline. Recent developments now seem to indicate that countries less dependent on trade and foreign direct investment have weathered and will lead the world economic recovery. Yet, these events are at odds with many of the conclusions of mainstream economic theory.

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