Recent elections in Hungary and the Netherlands, along with Trump 2.0's flagging support, led some to speculate that world-wide political populism may be peaking. However, these hopes were dashed by the UK local election results in which Reform UK was the big winner, and nationalist parties took control in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. In … Continue reading Can the United Kingdom Be Fixed?
Category: G7
Global Government Debt: Balloon Still Expanding
11 June 2024 Government efforts to mitigate the economic consequences of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) and the Covid pandemic have led to surging government debt. In the United States, for instance, public sector liabilities are approaching levels not seen before in peacetime (Chart above). And, while I will discuss important differences between countries and … Continue reading Global Government Debt: Balloon Still Expanding
Germany: Curing Europe’s Sick Man?
15 October 2023 Once admired as Europe's growth engine, Germany is now being identified as the region's "sick economy". Indeed, Germany's post-Covid recovery has lagged far behind the world's other advanced countries (Chart below). And, the nation's underperformance pre-dates the pandemic. What lies behind Germany's growth malaise, and can Europe's "Sick Man" be cured? To … Continue reading Germany: Curing Europe’s Sick Man?
Ireland: The Brexit Victor?
13 January 2021 There are no winners in Brexit, or so they say. In the recently agreed EU-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the United Kingdom was able to "regain control" of its immigration policy, to maintain tariff-free access to the EU Single Market (for now at least), to regain the ability to negotiate independent trade … Continue reading Ireland: The Brexit Victor?