Featured analysis

Zambia: A template for debt restructuring?

EconoGraphics Apr 17, 2025

Russia Sanctions Database: November 2024

By Kimberly Donovan, Maia Nikoladze

The Atlantic Council’s Russia Sanctions Database tracks the restrictive economic measures Western allies have placed on Russia and evaluates whether these measures are successful in achieving the stated objectives.
China East Asia
Zambia: A template for debt restructuring?

Econographics Mar 14, 2025

What is strategic about the new digital assets reserve?

By JP Schnapper-Casteras

To many on Wall Street and Main Street, this executive order on a strategic bitcoin reserve may still seem more like political maneuvering than sober monetary policy.
Digital Currencies Digital Policy
Zambia: A template for debt restructuring?

Sinographs Mar 12, 2025

China’s economic plans prioritize consumption—but only on paper

By Jeremy Mark

At last week’s meeting of the National People’s Congress, China declared consumption as the number one priority. But will the spending plans actually support consumers and businesses?
China Economy & Business

COMMENTARY & ANALYSIS

Econographics deep dives

Special sections that go inside the Chinese economy, the evolution of sanctions, and the future of money.

 

Sinographs

In-depth analysis of economic and financial trends in the Chinese economy.

Fintech frontlines

Research and analysis on the intersection of technology and policy developments in finance.

Global sanctions dashboard

Monthly analysis of global sanctions regimes—highlighting new listings, delistings, and the motivations behind these changes.

Latest analysis

Fintech Frontlines

May 14, 2024

What to do about ransomware payments

By Carole House

And why payment bans alone aren’t sufficient.

Artificial Intelligence Cybersecurity

Econographics

May 8, 2024

‘Creative solutions’ with Russia’s immobilized assets must rise to the challenge Ukraine now faces

By Oleg Dunda

$280 billion of Russian reserves can be used more strategically–without crossing red lines–to get funding to Ukraine.

Economic Sanctions International Financial Institutions

Econographics

May 7, 2024

The Enrico Letta Report and the state of the EU’s Capital Market Union

By Hung Tran

The Letta report emphasizes transforming the EU’s fragmented markets by prioritizing harmonization over new financial products, but achieving this requires a significant and sustained effort.

Economy & Business Europe & Eurasia
Central bank building with gate

Econographics

May 2, 2024

Understanding the plan to create a $50 billion Ukraine bond from Russia’s blocked assets

By Charles Lichfield, Mrugank Bhusari

The United States is pushing the G7 to consider a sovereign loan of $50 billion to Ukraine which would be repaid using the interest income on blocked Russian assets. Where does this $50 billion figure come from?

Economic Sanctions Russia

Econographics

May 1, 2024

How to improve the technical skill of the US national security workforce

By Lesley Chavkin, Eitan Danon, and Sigal Mandelker

We cannot expect to compete on the world stage without equipping the US civil service with the skills and experience needed to understand and harness the technological trends that will define the future. But if we want our best and brightest—our most ambitious and innovative—women and men to pursue federal service, we have to do a better job of proactively making the case why.

Economy & Business Future of Work

Econographics

Apr 30, 2024

The yen’s travails in an era of geopolitical rivalry

By Hung Tran

In an era marked by geopolitical tensions, the yen’s depreciation underscores the broader economic fallout from a persistently strong dollar and rising US interest rates.

Economy & Business Indo-Pacific
Factory under construction

Econographics

Apr 29, 2024

The IMF warms to industrial policy—but with caveats

By Walter Frick

Industrial policy is making a comeback around the world. There’s no better sign of this than the new attention paid to subsidies by bastions of the Washington consensus like the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which has historically been very skeptical of them.

Fiscal and Structural Reform International Financial Institutions

Econographics

Apr 25, 2024

The basics of CBDC

By Alisha Chhangani and Leila Hamilton

The race for the future of money is on, so here are the key items to catch you up on what a central bank digital currency is—and what it isn’t.

Digital Currencies Economy & Business
Brazil G20 bilboard

Econographics

Apr 12, 2024

Brazil’s approach to the G20: Leading by example

By Hung Tran

Brazil’s non-aligned, cooperative, and practical approach holds out the promise of a constructive outcome for this year’s G20 meetings—especially if progress is measured by concrete global initiatives.

Brazil G20

Sinographs

Apr 9, 2024

Breaking down Janet Yellen’s comments on Chinese overcapacity

By Hung Tran

It is reasonable to criticize and complain to China, but policymakers should remember that an end to overcapacity would mean a major shift in China’s economic model—which is exceedingly unlikely.

China Economy & Business
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Content

Econographics

Sep 8, 2022

Zambia: A template for debt restructuring?

By Hung Tran

Zambia shows that progress can be made to render the Common Framework more workable. However, more needs to be done to refine a comprehensive, efficient, and effective sovereign debt restructuring procedure.

Africa China
Dollar Currency Exchange rate

Econographics

Sep 7, 2022

Don’t expect a Plaza Accord 2.0 to reverse the dollar’s surge

By Mrugank Bhusari

Neither China, nor the original participants of the Plaza Accord, are willing to engage in such market intervention to return a soaring dollar to normal levels.

China Economy & Business

Econographics

Aug 25, 2022

Delisting Chinese companies from the New York Stock Exchange: Signs of decoupling

By Hung Tran

China’s decision to delist five companies from the NYSE is motivated by its unwillingness to comply with US regulations.

China Economy & Business

Econographics

Aug 24, 2022

Delayed but not defeated: The road ahead for a global minimum corporate tax

By Jeff Goldstein

Although the implementation process has been rocky and delayed, the incentives and motivation to move forward do exist, and the global minimum corporate tax is likely to advance.

Economy & Business European Union

Econographics

Aug 16, 2022

US climate spending may soon match that of developed peers

By Sophia Busch, Carrie Hsu

Now that the US has passed the Inflation Reduction Act, its spending commitments on climate adaption and mitigation may match those for the UK and EU through 2025.

Economy & Business United Kingdom

Econographics

Aug 12, 2022

Summer reading list: Future of money edition

By Ananya Kumar

These are our top picks for your summer reading list on the future of money: everything from trying to understand the news better to what’s next in the world of innovation.

Digital Currencies Digital Policy

Econographics

Aug 3, 2022

Trading geopolitics: The US-Chinese capital markets

By Elmar Hellendoorn

Increased Chinese-Western capital market integration is just one scenario. Instead, ”strong decoupling” or “muddling through” may prove more likely.

China Economy & Business

Econographics

Aug 2, 2022

The global slowdown: Why Sub-Saharan Africa is so important

By Amin Mohseni-Cheraghlou and Naomi Aladekoba

The global community, with the leadership of the IMF and the World Bank, needs to focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. While the population in countries that have moved into the high-income and upper middle-income categories are now aging rapidly, Sub-Saharan Africa is home to one of the world’s youngest population structure. In addition to lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty in this region, sustained and inclusive growth over the next two decades in Sub-Saharan Africa could contribute to the growth in the global economy.

Africa Economy & Business

Econographics

Jul 28, 2022

Keeping everyone in the club: How sanctions complicate the Bretton Woods Institutions’ job

By Mrugank Bhusari, Maia Nikoladze, Amin Mohseni-Cheraghlou

With a voting majority at the Bretton Woods Institutions, the G7 and EU can collectively ask the institutions to comply with their sanctions. This is complicating the IMF and World Bank's functions.

Economic Sanctions Economy & Business

Econographics

Jul 28, 2022

When does an economy enter recession?

By Charles Lichfield, Sophia Busch

US GDP growth was negative for two consecutive quarters, fulfilling textbook definitions of a recession. Regardless of definition, this period of contraction is different from previous periods with a much tighter labor market.

Economy & Business International Markets
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