Germany. Financial meltdown has been averted in Europe – for now. But the future of the European Union and the fate of the eurozone still hang in the balance. If Europe doesn’t find a way to reactivate the continent’s economy soon, it will be doomed to years of gloom and endless mutual recrimina...

My last post left a few loose ends, so let me clarify and amplify. First, Albert Hirschman is very much with us, although in failing health. He could not attend yesterday's event in his honor, although his wonderful wife Sarah Hirschman and many members of the Hirschman family were there. It was...

There was a time when economists believed that institutional reform--improving governance--was a key ingredient in improving living standards in the developing world. "Good governance" is surely a good thing in its own right. But a lot of recent academic and policy research has focused of late...

The Greek crisis is yet another manifestation of the political trilemma of the world economy: economic globalization, political democracy, and the nation-state are mutually irreconcilable. We can have at most two at one time. Read the rest here.

but unfortunately, not anytime very soon! If you want to read a good book in the meantime, read this.

No, I am not referring to plans under way in the U.S. Congress to slap punitive tariffs on U.S exports. What I have in mind is a proposal that is suggested by the underlying economics of the situation, but which no-one has yet put forward. It entails granting China an exemption from WTO rules t...

It’s been a strangely prolific week publishing-wise. Literally within a few days of each other, I held in my hands two new books with my name on it. As you might gather from their cover, they couldn’t be more different. The first is a book that lays out my ideas on globalization and its futur...

His words, not mine (well, I am paraphrasing). But I do appreciate his willingness to reconsider. We should all be so forthcoming. The question at issue may seem technical, but it is of considerable policy importance. It is a standard result in public economics that the efficiency cost of a smal...

Readers of this blog will not be surprised by the views I express in my NYT op-ed today on guest workers, as I have written similar things here in the past couple of weeks. But you may be interested to know that the op-ed itself came about because of this blog: it was solicited by a NYT editor w...

Princeton University Press has gathered some pretty nifty endorsements for my forthcoming book, and I cannot resist gloating about them. (Frank--you know who you are--just skip this post...) Here are some extracts: Robert M. Solow: “Maybe Tolstoy was right about happy and unhappy families, but...

And just in case you were wondering who is behind the aforementioned trade deal between the White House and the Democrats ...

Thanks to Omar Z for the link. Someone out there has a sense of humor.

On insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs), at least. There has been an ongoing battle between Sachs and segments of the global public health community on the appropriate delivery mechanisms for ITNs. The efficacy of ITNs in preventing malaria exposure is not in question. What has been debated is...