Brexit on the beach
Brexit has consequences for an eclectic collection of territories that are attached in different ways to the UK. They are mentioned in the Withdrawal Agreement, and they include Gibraltar (which …
Competition: it’s not me, it’s not you, it’s us
Last year, Toyota increased its shareholding in Subaru, and Subaru bought shares in Toyota for the first time. There is no intention it is said of Toyota actually acquiring Subaru …
Trade agreements: breaking them up is hard to do
A possible trade agreement between the UK and the US has become a controversial issue in the UK elections. The Labour Party alleges that the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) …
For what it’s worth: evaluation
Evaluation plays a huge role in public policy. Or does it? Anyway, it takes up a lot of time and other resources, such as money and people. Evaluations take a …
Inequality in the EU: less is more, more or less….
Among the many challenges facing the EU is income inequality. (I’ve added a page on the topic here.) The following are key points from it. Income inequality drives migration among …
Now, Voyager? Or maybe later….
Sending goods by sea is the norm. And, if you’re worried about CO2 emissions, you’ll initially be glad to hear that according to the World Shipping Council “Maritime shipping is …
Do you want euros with that?
The relative performance of the bigger EU countries in terms of GDP per capita has been interesting over the period 2006 to 2017 (i.e. from just before the financial crisis. …
Which came first, the chicken or the competition?
In anticipation of Brexit, the United States has outlined its objectives for a trade agreement with the UK. Among other things, it wants to see access for its agriculture to …
Brexit and trade agreements for the UK
First of all, Brexit doesn’t just mean that the UK is leaving the EU. It also means that the UK is leaving all the trade agreements that the EU made …
Ghosn but not forgotten
Pronouncing the man’s name is difficult enough. To understand the details of the Renault-Nissan linkage (also incorporating Mitsubishi) is even harder. But the effects are striking. A more or less …
Brexit and the UK Labour Party
Brexit is not yet as viciously divisive an issue within the UK Labour Party as it is within the UK Conservative Party. But opinion is at least as diverse. The …
More prescriptions for the euro
“Handelsblatt” is a daily newspaper published in German in which is really very good. It gives a comprehensive coverage of German and international business news and issues. On its website, …
EU: economic policy, please…….
Natalie Nougayrède from the Guardian newspaper had an article recently in which she talked about her encounter with the Austrian Foreign Minister at a public discussion on the future of …
IMF projections and international trade policies
As usual, the IMF World Economic Outlook has been published in connection with the annual meeting of the World Bank and the IMF. The new report has a special emphasis …
Moving Up the Value Chain
Moving Up the Value Chain This is one of the most used and least defined phrases in discussions of business strategy and sometimes national policy also. It has been used …
Competitiveness Liga
People like numbers, as long as there are not too many. And people have a broad grasp of rankings: they know the difference between coming first in a race and …
The euro, again
Paul Krugman had a strange piece in the New York Times yesterday. He said that many of Europe’s problems came from the “…disastrous decision, a generation ago, to adopt a …
Italy and the euro
The formation of a new populist government in Italy is getting a certain amount of attention from commentators. The Süddeutsche Zeitung outlines growing worries in Brussels and Bonn that the …