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Indonesia has all that it takes to move up the value chain

Econographics Jun 24, 2026

As democracies grow old, it becomes harder to adopt sound economic policies

By Martin Mühleisen

By slowing growth and tightening fiscal space, aging in democracies may contribute to an increase in political polarization.

Economy & Business Fiscal and Structural Reform

Indonesia has all that it takes to move up the value chain

Dispatches Jun 23, 2026

The Greenspan legacy: How the Federal Reserve should face the AI revolution

By Hung Tran

Learning from the former Federal Reserve chair’s experiences to safely navigate the current tech boom would be the highest form of tribute to his memory.

Economy & Business Financial Regulation

Indonesia has all that it takes to move up the value chain

Dispatches Jun 22, 2026

Who’s to blame for the UK’s high turnover of prime ministers?

By Philippe Dickinson, Charles Lichfield

Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s resignation again raises questions about whether the current difficulty lies in the candidate, the country, or the system.

Elections Politics & Diplomacy

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EconoGraphics

Europe’s Path to Budget Equilibrium

By Alvaro Morales Salto Weis & TK Spandhla

The European Union’s 28 member nations are required by Stability and Growth Pact to keep their budget deficits to within 3 percent of GDP. According to the European Commission forecast (as of winter 2016) six countries will exceed this level in 2016: the U.K., France, Spain, Greece, Croatia and Portugal. Romania will post a deficit at the threshold. This is an improvement from 2009 and 2010, when no fewer than 22 EU countries overstepped the deficit limit.

Economy & Business European Union

EconoGraphics

The European Refugee Surge: Transforming Challenges into Opportunities

By Alvaro Morales Salto Weis & TK Spandhla

Asylum applications to the European Union (EU) set an all-time record in 2015, more than doubling the 2014 figure, according to EUROSTAT. After the recent agreement between Turkey and the EU, the influx of refugees is expected to decrease significantly.

Afghanistan Europe & Eurasia

Bremain vs Brexit

A Costly Goodbye

By Alvaro Morales Salto Weis & TK Spandhla

On June 23, British citizens will decide on a referendum whether the UK stays or leaves the EU. The consequences of a vote to leave, or Brexit, could decide the UK’s place in the world for generations.

Economy & Business European Union

EconoGraphics

The French Way of Reforms

By Alvaro Morales Salto Weis & TK Spandhla

France’s economy has struggled to grow in recent years, expanding by a mere 1.1% in 2015. Meanwhile its unemployment rate has stubbornly lingered around 10%, with a slight upwards trend.

Economy & Business Fiscal and Structural Reform

EconoGraphics

A Tale of Two QE’s

By Alvaro Morales Salto Weis & TK Spandhla

On March 10, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced an expansion of its Quantitative Easing Program (QE), increasing the amount of government bonds it buys monthly from €60 billion to €80 billion. It also extended the range of assets it purchases to include investment grade non-bank corporate bonds. On top of that, the ECB lowered already negative deposit interest rates further down, to -0.4%, and its main interest rate to 0%. So, why have Central Banks embraced QE?

Economy & Business European Union

EconoGraphics

TTIP: Window of Opportunity is Closing

By Alvaro Morales Salto Weis & TK Spandhla

The 12th round of negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) concluded last week in Brussels on an optimistic tone. The Chief Negotiator for the EU announced significant advances in most negotiating areas, including on the Investor-State-Dispute Settlement (ISD), which had been frozen for months. His US counterpart expressed confidence in reaching an ambitious deal in the second half of the year, rejecting calls for a “TTIP lite”.

Economy & Business European Union

EconoGraphics

TTIP: Cutting the Red Tape

By Global Business and Economics

The 12th round of negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) unfolded this week in Brussels between the EU and their American counterparts. At a time when both parties are stuck with weak growth (and persistent high unemployment in Europe), the importance of TTIP cannot be understated.

Economy & Business European Union

EconoGraphics

Tug of Budget War in Brussles

By Global Business and Economics

In the past weeks, the Portuguese government and EU authorities have engaged in a tug of war over the Portuguese budget proposal for 2016. The European Commission (EC) warned the newly elected anti-austerity government that it risked “serious non-compliance” with the EU’s fiscal rules. Finally, Lisbon narrowly avoided becoming the first Eurozone country to have its budget rejected by Brussels, as it agreed to additional tax hikes and spending cuts.

Economy & Business European Union

EconoGraphics

Dreaming Big: Size Matters

By Global Business and Economics

Why are Google, Apple or Facebook American-born but not European? Concerns about Europe’s lack of innovative start-ups prompted the European Commission (EC) to launch the Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan, aimed at bolstering entrepreneurship culture.

Economy & Business Europe & Eurasia

EconoGraphics

Juncker Has a Plan

By Global Business and Economics

Europe's fragile recovery has been ailing from low levels of investment. While GDP and consumption have surpassed their pre-crisis levels, by the end of 2014 gross capital formation was still around 15% below its 2007 peak (€230 billion to €370 billion less than the EU's long term investment average). That is why the EU launched an ambitious investment plan, the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI).

Economy & Business European Union

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Econographics

Indonesia has all that it takes to move up the value chain

By Amin Mohseni-Cheraghlou

Ahead of the 2026 IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings, Indonesia has a chance to showcase its growing economic clout. The challenge is turning its natural resources, young population, and strategic position into lasting productivity gains.

Economy & Business South Asia

Econographics

Are rising bond yields and elevated leverage a recipe for market turmoil?

By Hung Tran

Rising bond yields, elevated leverage, and an ongoing correction in AI stocks are making the financial system more fragile. The appropriate response is preparation, not panic.

Economy & Business Macroeconomics

Econographics

Europe’s rare earth strategy is betting on allies

By Theodor Westerlund Moberg

Europe cannot mine its way out of rare earth dependence on China. With most refining still under Chinese control, the EU needs deeper allied cooperation—and sustained investment—to build resilient supply chains.

Critical Minerals Economy & Business

Econographics

When a few stocks become the market

By Bart Piasecki

Stock market concentration is rising as a small group of companies increasingly drives major indexes. South Korea’s KOSPI shows how quickly strong returns can become a market vulnerability.

Economy & Business

Econographics

A visual guide to the new US tariff wall

By Madeline Chalecki

The Trump administration’s new tariff regime is a complex patchwork of duties, exemptions, and trade deals. Here’s how it is reshaping US trade—in eight charts.

Economy & Business Trade and tariffs

Econographics

The infrastructure for tokenized bank deposits is beginning to take shape

By Hung Tran

Tokenized bank deposits remain modest in scale and largely limited to fragmented, bank-specific networks. Yet recent pilots suggest that the infrastructure needed for cross-border use is beginning to emerge.

Digital Currencies Digital Policy

Econographics

Why banning open-source AI is a bad idea

By JP Schnapper-Casteras

The best response to capable Chinese open models is not to make US developers less capable. It is to build better, safer, more competitive US models—open and closed.

Artificial Intelligence China

Econographics

Kenya wants to monetize its data. But at what cost?

By Aadyaa Maddi, Karen Sowon, and Giulia Fanti

As data becomes a strategic resource, Kenya wants to cash in. But without stronger safeguards on consent, privacy, and valuation, its data strategy could become a cautionary tale.

Africa Digital Policy

Econographics

Mexico can turn USMCA pressure into an industrial opportunity

By Ernesto Stein, Phil Lovegren

Mexico’s record exports mask an uncomfortable reality: its fastest-growing industry—data processing machines—relies overwhelmingly on Asian inputs. A carefully redesigned USMCA could help the country move up the value chain.

Economy & Business Financial Regulation

Econographics

The US just threatened new tariffs on Canada. Here’s why they may not work.

By Madeline Chalecki

The latest escalation in the US-Canadian tariff standoff highlights the limits of using trade restrictions as a negotiating tool—and the risks of getting trapped in a cycle of retaliation.

Americas Trade and tariffs

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