Articles
Articles and analyses from the INET community on the key economic questions of our time.
Vera Songwe: "Let’s build forward better!"
In this interview, Dr. Vera Songwe, economist and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa reflects on the ways that African governments have handled COVID-19, the role of the Continental Free Trade Agreement in turbo-charging future growth, the vital role of infrastructural investment and mobilising domestic resources for building forward better and greener.
"Shadow" Lobbyists Run Rampant in the Swamp
Unregistered lobbyists, including former members of Congress, are a key resource for lobbying firms
Edward Brown: “Growth with ‘DEPTH’ should guide economic transformation in Africa”
In this interview, Folashadé Soulé and Camilla Toulmin discuss with Edward K. Brown, Senior Director, Research and Advisory services at the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) based in Accra, Ghana, on the effects of COVID-19 on regional integration and economic transformation in Africa, and the role of ACET and African think tanks in advising African governments respond to the crisis.
What Is Technology? Enabler, Accelerator, or Displacer?
Technology has coevolved with human societies and played critical roles in past social and economic transformations. From the invention of steam engines to the use of electricity, technological changes were responsible for boosting productivity gains and increasing standards of living. But what really is technology? Is it an external force outside our control, or do we have a say in its direction, development, and deployment? These questions were undoubtedly made more urgent with the rapid advancement in digital technologies of late.
The Master and the Prodigy
It’s Time for a Debt “Jubilee”
America’s Dire Inequality Demands a New Conceptual Framework. This Economist Has One.
In a new book from Cambridge University Press, Lance Taylor reveals that wage repression — far more than monopoly power, offshoring or technological change — is driving rising inequality.
What Happens When a Noted Female Economist Fights Toxic Culture in the Field?
Claudia Sahm dares to call out systemic bullying and harassment that drives out talent and compromises science. Perpetrators are not happy.
Comment on Lance Taylor’s “’Savings Glut’ Fables and International Trade Theory: An Autopsy”
Reply to Andrew Smithers
How Dairy Monopolies Keep Milk Off the Shelves
Consolidation in the dairy industry has created separate, inflexible supply chains for consumers and commercial markets. When COVID killed commercial demand, perfectly good milk and cheese was wasted.
“Savings Glut” Fables and International Trade Theory: An Autopsy
A “global saving glut” was invented by Ben Bernanke in 2005 as a label for positive net lending (imports exceeding exports) to the American economy by the rest of the world. However, there is a more plausible explanation for the persistent trade imbalance between the US and its major trading partners.
