President Joe Biden’s new climate strategy, announced after his original plan crumbled under opposition in Congress, will represent a historic investment in clean energy technology and infrastructure if it is enacted. But it is still not likely to be enough to meet the administration’s emissions reduction goals for 2030. As director of the Fletcher School’s […]
Nigeria’s transport grant isn’t the best way to allocate fuel subsidy savings: here’s what is
Following unrelenting pressure by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, the Nigerian government intends to eliminate its fuel subsidy in July 2022. Nigeria spent about N10 trillion (currently US$24.5 billion) on petroleum subsidies between 2006 and 2018. About $2.5 billion was spent on fuel subsidies in 2020. It is expected that the subsidy […]
Jobs report hints that Fed policy is paying off – and that a ‘growth recession’ awaits
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 U.S. economy added 236,000 jobs during the month – roughly in line with expectations. A […]
In fractious debate, GOP candidates find common ground on cause of inflation woes and need for school choice
It was a night in which even “the great communicator” himself may have struggled to be heard. At the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California on Sept. 27, 2023, seven Republican candidates looking to become the leading challenger to the absent GOP front-runner Donald Trump interrupted, cross-talked and bickered – often to the exasperation of […]
As home prices soar, we have an inquiry almost designed not to tell us why
Never has an inquiry into the skyrocketing price of homes been more urgent. Rarely has one been as insultingly ill-suited as the one under way right now. Midway through last year in the midst of COVID, the average forecast of the 22 leading economists who took part in The Conversation mid-year survey was for no […]
If the US defaults on debt, expect the dollar to fall – and with it, Americans’ standard of living
Congress has seemingly kicked the debt ceiling deadline down the road – but the threat of a future default still exists. On Oct. 7, 2021, lawmakers in the Senate agreed to extend the government’s ability to borrow until December. It came after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell offered a temporary suspension to the debt limit, […]
Ghana’s debt makes development impossible: here are some solutions
By the year 2000, the government of Ghana had borrowed so much that the country was in debt distress. It then subscribed to the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. Consequently, much of the country’s external debt of over US$4 billion was written off by creditors. By the […]
The Federal Reserve and the art of navigating a soft landing … when economic data sends mixed signals
With inflation easing and the U.S. economy cooling, is the Federal Reserve done raising interest rates? After all, gently bringing down the trajectory of prices without crashing the economy was the central bank’s objective when it began jacking up rates over a year ago. Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of an economy’s output, expanded […]
Why China’s shrinking population is a big deal – counting the social, economic and political costs of an aging, smaller society
Throughout much of recorded human history, China has boasted the largest population in the world – and until recently, by some margin. So news that the Chinese population is now in decline, and will sometime later this year be surpassed by that of India, is big news even if long predicted. As a scholar of […]
Four priorities for Nigeria’s newly elected national assembly
Nigeria’s National Assembly – the 10th since independence – was inaugurated on 13 June 2023. It has two arms: the Senate and the House of Representatives. The 109 senators and 360 representatives were elected on 25 February 2023. Godswill Akpabio was elected Senate president and Tajudeen Abass House of Representatives speaker. Its primary responsibility is […]