Economics & Global Affairs

1113 Items

26th Africa Business Conference (ABC) held at Harvard Business School (HBS)

Panel Director, Mubashir Ekungba

Analysis & Opinions - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

Mapping a Way Forward with African Businesses in a Globalized World

| Mar. 19, 2024

Africa is home to approximately 1.4 billion people[1], about 16 percent of the world’s population, yet its continental share in global trade remains below 3 percent[2], according to the World Trade Organization (WTO). This suboptimal proportion of world trade is compounded by Africa's limited intra-continental trade. During the 26th Africa Business Conference (ABC) held at Harvard Business School (HBS) on the 17th of February 20, 2024, industry experts, policymakers, students, faculty members, and entrepreneurs converged to interrogate these concerns and explore opportunities for improving intra-African trade. 

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Blog Post - views-on-the-economy-and-the-world

Six Explanations for Misperceptions Regarding the Strong Economy

| Feb. 25, 2024

By now, quite a variety of explanations have been offered for the puzzle that the unusually good state of the US economy has not been reflected in public opinion surveys, and especially not in polls regarding President Joe Biden’s bid for re-election in November.  At least six hypotheses have been put forward regarding the performance-perception gap.

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Blog Post - views-on-the-economy-and-the-world

Helping Ukraine is a National Security No-brainer

| Jan. 28, 2024

Much is difficult to understand about what has happened to one of our two political parties.   Among other things, I don’t understand why some Republican congresspeople oppose an extension of US support for the government of Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion, and why others who may be in favor of continuing support give it so low priority as to allow their colleagues to block it, by holding it hostage to unrelated Mexican border concerns.

Weighing costs and benefits, backing Ukraine is one of the most sensible US foreign affairs policy priorities in a long time. As Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky said earlier this month, “Giving us money or giving us weapons, you support yourself.”

Analysis & Opinions - Project Syndicate

Why Supporting Ukraine Enhances US National Security

| Jan. 25, 2024

While the United States has valid reasons to avoid a direct confrontation with Russia, supporting Ukraine’s war effort should be a top foreign-policy priority. Aiding Ukraine costs a fraction of what the Iraq War cost, does not entail the potential loss of US soldiers, and advances America's interest in deterring wars of aggression.

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Blog Post - views-on-the-economy-and-the-world

Fix Air Traffic Control!

| Dec. 17, 2023

Air travel is soaring, as a long-term trend, especially in the growing economy.  It is also soaring seasonally: The few days after Christmas are expected to be especially intense.  Many passengers will experience maddening flight delays this holiday season, especially in the US. A few might be exposed to scary airport near-misses.  It is reasonable to hope that the excellent US safety record — no fatal crashes since 2009 — will be extended.  But close calls have increased during the post-pandemic return to commercial air travel, reaching about 300 in the most recent year, 27 of them serious.

Analysis & Opinions - Project Syndicate

How to Fix America’s Broken Air-Traffic Control System

| Dec. 14, 2023

Understaffed and underfunded, the United States’ air-traffic control system is close to its breaking point. The main obstacle to reform is the wealth and influence of private-jet owners, a group that has its own successful lobbying operation focused on retaining access to airport slots and ensuring that fees remain low.

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Blog Post - views-on-the-economy-and-the-world

Does the Fed Deserve Credit for the Disinflation?

| Nov. 19, 2023

The Bureau of Labor Statistics on November 14, remarkably, announced that the US CPI had been unchanged in October (whether seasonally adjusted or not).  That is, the level of the CPI was unchanged, not the inflation rate, which was zero.  Of course, single-month numbers are too volatile to draw much of a conclusion.  Not every month will see the price of gasoline plunge by 5.0 %, as it did from September to October.

More informatively, the headline CPI inflation rate over the last 12 months was 3.2 %, far down from 6.5 % in 2022.  At the risk of tempting fate, one might say that the inflation battle is being won.