Trade Protectionism in Financial Crises and Implications for Future Trade Rounds

From the Great Depression to the Great Crisis If asked to name the single most detrimental policy introduced in the immediate wake of the great depression of the late 1920’s, many a commentator would cry out with distain: “Smoot-Hawley”. Halving imports and exports and sparking trade wars with major trading partners is no mean feat, … Continue reading »

Prescient Words on the ECB’s Failings

The European Central Bank is really ‘much ado about almost nothing’ – at least this was thought to be the case by financial crisis scholar Hyman P. Minsky in the early 1990’s. In a comparative assessment of the changing nature of capitalism from 60 years earlier when the great depression hit, Minsky suggested that any … Continue reading »

Eurobonds can Save the Euro

Following my previously upbeat diagnosis for the Eurozone in the coming year, there has been one issue left unmentioned – Eurobonds. A commonly touted solution to the debt crisis has been to issue a Eurozone bond, which would allow debt-ridden countries to piggyback off of the high credit ratings of Germany, Finland etc., in order … Continue reading »

2012 Will Not be The Death of The Euro

As the New Year begins, mainstream economic commentary in blogs, newspapers and journals is focusing on the deepening crisis of the Eurozone. Martin Feldstein in Foreign Affaris, Charles Wyplosz at Voxeu.org and many others have all written excellent pieces on what has gone wrong and what should happen in future. Whilst the sentiment remains pessimistic … Continue reading »

Is Ireland facing a Britain or Brussels Choice?

José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, came out aggressively against roadblocks from the UK this week. He referred to demands made by Britain in Euro-reform negotiations as being a threat to the ‘integrity’ of the EU single market. Whilst David Cameron’s veto decision has cast doubt on the UK’s future role as a … Continue reading »

Russian Banks Poised to Gain Greatly with WTO Accession

Russian banks poised to gain greatly with WTO accession Russian banking is becoming a force to be reckoned with. Globally, Russian banks are surviving the financial dips and crevices better than both their Western and Eastern counterparts while also gaining in Standard and Poor ratings. Moreover, the largest Russian banks are beginning to launch aggressive … Continue reading »

Are Trade Sanctions The Right Tool to Fight Human Rights Abuses in Myanmar?

Hillary Clinton recently made an historic state visit to Myanmar, a sign for many that the South East Asian nation is moving closer towards being a market-based economy. There is even talk on the horizon of the US lifting trade sanctions and allowing investment by US citizens. Whilst a switch of political regime is a … Continue reading »

Progress: Is GDP how we measure it?

Trade, development, and fiscal policy all have one key commonality: improving our livelihoods; but how is this measured? In the modern era there are statistics created to measure almost everything (ones safety when using a vending machine can be measured by ‘The Number of Vending Machine Related Deaths’). When it comes to decisions about how … Continue reading »