Dear Project Syndicate reader, Welcome to the August 2012 monthly newsletter, bringing you the latest news from Project Syndicate and a selection of
Dear Project Syndicate reader,
Welcome to the August 2012 monthly newsletter, bringing you the latest news from Project Syndicate and a selection of key commentaries from the past month. This month, we are pleased to present a new Focal Point honoring the centennial of Milton Friedman's birth, and another examining the global consequences of the eurozone crisis. To keep up-to-date with all of our content, visit our Web site regularly, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Thank you for your continued support.
Milton Friedman at 100
Photo courtesy of the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice
July 31 marked the centennial of Nobel laureate Milton Friedman's birth. Friedman was one of the most original – and controversial – economists of the twentieth century, and his impact is still felt throughout the world. In a new Focal Point, Friedman and other Project Syndicate contributors discuss his economic vision and influence. In Friedman's Project Syndicate commentaries, he predicted that the euro would lead to political disunity, and examined the causes of East Asia's crisis in the late 1990's. Also included are J. Bradford DeLong on Friedman as Keynes's heir, Dani Rodrik on how Friedman undermined institutional pre-requisites for a free market, and former Polish Finance Minister Leszek Balcerowicz on Friedman as the intellectual inspiration for Poland's freedom.
Europe's Crisis Goes Global
As economies throughout the post-2008 developed world slumped, emerging markets proved resilient. But now, Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis is threatening to derail these countries' export-led growth, while credit rationing by distressed banks is fueling a trade-finance downturn, hindering the flow of goods to and from poor countries. In a new Focal Point, Project Syndicate contributors consider whether developing countries can weather the storm. Articles include Yu Yongding on how China can protect itself from consequences of a Grexit, Raghuram Rajan on India's slowdown, Andrés Velasco on Brazil's future, and Stephen S. Roach on why Asian economies are particularly vulnerable.
TOKYO – Has Japan’s political paralysis finally lifted? The recent agreement, after a long debate, between the government and leading opposition parties to double the consumption tax – from 5% to 8% in 2014, and then to 10% in 2015 – suggests that it has. But there is a real risk that the government will mistake this measure for the end of the reform process. In fact, it is – or should be – only the beginning.
By virtually any measure, official Japanese debt is the highest in the world. The total outstanding volume of Japanese Government Bonds (JGBs) is an almost unfathomable $9 trillion, only just below the $10.5 trillion in outstanding debt for the full 17-country eurozone, which has more than triple the population...read more.
ASPEN – Public-opinion polls in the United States indicate a close presidential election in November. While President Barack Obama outpolls the Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, on foreign policy, slow economic growth and high unemployment – issues that are far more salient in US elections – favor Romney. And, even on foreign policy, Obama’s critics complain that he has failed to implement the transformational initiatives that he promised four years ago. Are they right?
Obama came to power when both the US and the world economy were in the midst of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Indeed, some of Obama’s economic advisers counseled him that unless urgent steps were taken to stimulate the economy, there was a one-in-three chance of entering a full-scale depression...read more.
