In many Germanic languages, the word for ‘debt’ also means ‘guilt’. This column explores whether the linguistic overlap leads to greater debt aversion in Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland. Using a guilt-laden term reduces willingness to borrow, lowers approval for government debt, and influences firms’ financing plans and politicians’ framing of fiscal policy. While […]
Micron plans to stop supplying server chips to data centres in China after the business failed to recover from a 2023 government ban on its products in critical Chinese infrastructure, two people briefed on the decision said. Micron was the first U.S. chipmaker to be targeted by Beijing – a move that was seen as retaliatory […]
Economists estimate weekly jobless claims fell to 217,000 from 235,000. The number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits fell last week, economists at JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs estimated on Thursday, but lackluster hiring has left many on unemployment rolls. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped to a seasonally adjusted 217,000 for the […]
In 2022, the World Bank and Sarawak State in Malaysia launched a State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) Transformation Program that was based on a systematic corporate governance review requested by the state. The initiative addressed issues raised by the Auditor General, including SOEs financial weaknesses, low dividends, poor governance, and limited state oversight. The reform focused on three areas: […]
The starkly different paths of economic and institutional development followed by China and the West is often attributed largely to the Industrial Revolution. This column argues that institutions and culture played a key role in setting Europe and China on divergent paths well before the onset of the Industrial Revolution, but the role they played […]
Europe’s reliance on US arms raises autonomy concerns, as security worsens and leaders aim to cut strategic and technological dependence. Worries about Europe’s dependence on the United States military industrial base have increased with the worsening security situation in Europe and the deterioration of the transatlantic relationship. With a new dataset covering all US foreign […]
Annual inflation has plunged from a record high of 38% in September 2023. Egypt’s annual urban consumer price inflation slowed to 11.7% in September from 12% in August, data from statistics agency CAPMAS showed on Wednesday, a deceleration less than what analysts in a Reuters poll had anticipated. The median forecast was for an easing […]
The agency’s strategic objective is to position the UAE among the world’s top ten countries in attracting and hosting space-related companies by 2031. Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of Sports and Chairman of the UAE Space Agency, affirmed that the UAE’s space sector is witnessing rapid growth, driven by sustained government support and the […]
Many European countries have adopted the American model of doctoral training and academic evaluation. While this model suits America’s vast, mobile labour market, in Europe it has created perverse incentives and distorted research priorities. This column argues that Europe needs a more pluralistic, socially grounded, and inclusive system for the training of economists. It proposes […]
Food insecurity remains a critical issue affecting millions of people across the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan (MENAAP). The region faces a wide range of food security challenges—from acute conflict-related humanitarian crises in some areas to affordability concerns in others, and from high levels of economic prosperity to accompanying nutritional deficits. The food […]
