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In RealTime posts, PIIE senior staff and colleagues discuss the fast-moving economic news, financial developments, and public policy choices confronting the United States and the world.
Despite the repeated warnings of commentators too numerous to mention, Europeans have declined to elect ultra-nationalist, anti-establishment majorities in their parliaments and hasten a repeat of 1930s era fascism or communism. This does not mean that the continent is without political problems as the next European elections approach, however. For reasons I will explain below, [...]
Installation of a new government in Italy and the first effects of the newly approved bailout in Cyprus provide some modestly optimistic data points for an otherwise weak euro area outlook. For Italy, a Fresh Start, a Youthful Team, but No Guarantees of Success In Italy, Enrico Letta has taken office as the prime minister, [...]
The next euro country in possible need of an international stabilization program is not Italy but Slovenia. It is suffering from a moderate banking crisis. Newly appointed center-left Prime Minister Alena Bratusek argues that an international assistance program might not be necessary. She might be right, but only if the Slovenian government acts hard and [...]
On March 12, President Vladimir Putin appointed Elvira Nabiullina, 49, chairwoman of the Central Bank of Russia. This is an important political appointment, and a reassuring one. Nabiullina is eminently qualified, and her selection puts the central bank in a safe pair of hands at a time of roiling uncertainty over other aspects of the [...]
In a recent interview with PBS’s Frontline, Lanny Breuer—head of the criminal division at the Department of Justice—appeared to admit that some financial institutions were too big to prosecute. In the “too big to fail is too big to jail” controversy that ensued, lobbyists and other supporters of big Wall Street firms tried all kinds [...]
Hugo Chavez, fiery leader of Venezuela since he took power in a 1999 coup, architect of the 21st century socialism model and dreamer of a united Bolivarian front of South American nations died on March 5 in Caracas. What has been his legacy for Venezuela and the Latin American region? For Venezuela, Chavez’s fourteen years [...]
The recent election and political confusion in Italy indicate that political risk is back in Europe. Yet what is the real scope of the danger, and where do we go from here? To answer, it is worth noting that there were two elections in Europe, one in Cyprus and one in Italy, and in many [...]
Given the scale of India’s slowing rate of growth and other economic difficulties, there was one and only metric by which the new budget presented on February 28 would and should be assessed. Had this United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government fundamentally repudiated fiscal populism because it believed that such populism was no longer electorally popular? [...]
It is no surprise that the results of the Italian political election have unsettled the markets and stirred fears outside the country about the potentially damaging impact on Europe, the United States, and the global economy. The markets appear to be mostly concerned by the absence of a working majority in the parliament, increasing the [...]
Following the electoral earthquake in November 2012, the prospects for immigration reform are looking favorable.1 Republicans are increasingly concerned about alienating America’s biggest and most rapidly growing minority group while Democrats feel obligated to deliver the goods to the Hispanic voters who have been part of a loyal electoral bloc in the two last presidential [...]