At first glance, Indonesia’s long-awaited Presidential Regulation on the Acceleration of Renewable Energy Development for Electricity Generation looks like a step forward toward a clean energy transition. It embeds pricing regulations for renewable energy projects within a wider roadmap for the early retirement of coal-fired power plants. But there are doubts over its effectiveness due to underlying […]Continue Reading
The 2019 satirical film “Eeb Allay Ooo!” highlights the grim reality of India’s employment crisis. The protagonist, who lacks marketable skills, takes on the impossible job of chasing away monkeys from public spaces. The subcontractor, not happy with his employee’s performance, hurls insults, withholds his wages and finally fires him. The film unwittingly captures what is wrong […]Continue Reading
Growing confrontation and competition between the United States and China has paved the way for closer US-Taiwan economic relations. Taiwan could take advantage of this changing geopolitical environment to advance deeper institutionalized trade ties with the United States. A complex supply chain network between US and Taiwanese companies has grown over decades. Despite this close […]Continue Reading
The latest jobs report is in, and the good news is Federal Reserve policy on inflation appears to be working. The bad news is Fed policy on inflation appears to be working. The March 2023 jobs report reveals that the US economy added 236,000 jobs during the month – roughly in line with expectations. A […]Continue Reading
Pakistan is on the edge of defaulting on its financial obligations. In 2022, climate change led to severe floods in the country and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine affected food and energy supply chains. Both events exacerbated Pakistan’s economic difficulties. But volatile politics have hamstrung any coherent government response. Pakistan is simultaneously trying to cope with […]Continue Reading
Five years ago it would have been unimaginable, but today there is a global movement convinced the world’s largest corporations are engaging in stealth warfare to transform liberal democracies into neo-communist dictatorships. At the heart of this corporate-led Marxist revolution, apparently, is the trend towards businesses not just focusing on profit maximization but taking into […]Continue Reading
Here’s a prediction: In 10 or even 20 years’ time, no reputable economist or statistician will be able to work out convincingly what economic benefit the United Kingdom gained from joining the 11-country Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership in 2023. Those 11 countries are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore […]Continue Reading
While many advanced economy central banks are facing a dilemma over how to fight inflation in the middle of an outbreak of financial instability, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) is facing a unique dilemma of its own. In 2022, Japanese inflation reached 4% — well above the BOJ’s target of 2%. Ten years since the […]Continue Reading
Huawei’s financial results for 2022 show a slight increase in revenue, steep declines in operating and net profit but no red ink, and a sound balance sheet. Considering last year’s Covid lockdown, inflation and the need to work around US sanctions, the Chinese telecom company turned in an admirable performance. Huawei’s operating margin was 6.6%, […]Continue Reading
According to World Bank data, only a handful of economies have risen from middle- to high-income status since 1960, when economic catch-up growth in many developing economies took off. Examples include South Korea, Singapore, Israel and Ireland. Some countries that were high income in 1960 remain so today, such as Denmark and Japan. Others, like Myanmar […]Continue Reading