International Selection

The Chinese regime is convinced that a first-rank industrial power needs a banking system that is active globally. This ambition is fine - but only as long as it is handled with great caution. A column by Simon Johnson.

When Chancellor Merkel’s new government is in place, Germany will assume an even more important role in the pursuit of greater European integration. A column by Harold James.

Advanced-country central banks are risking their standing in society as well as their political independence and hard-won credibility. A column by Mohamed A. El-Erian.

The potentially fatal flaw in Obamacare is the very same feature that appeals most to its supporters: the ability of even those with a serious preexisting health condition to buy insurance at the standard premium. A column by Martin Feldstein.

The challenge for governments is to devise ways to encourage firms or individuals to engage in more innovation to bolster economic growth. A column by Sami Mahroum.

Urbanization, schooling, and Internet access are insufficient to transmit the tacit knowledge required to be productive. That is why today’s emerging markets are less productive than rich countries were in 1960. A column by Ricardo Hausmann.

China's leaders have demonstrated much foresight and ability to have managed the growth period successfully. That was the relatively easier part. Today's leadership faces a greater challenge: To adjust the imbalances. A column by Michael Pettis.

Long dependent on China to finesse its fiscal problems, America may now have to pay a much steeper price to secure external capital. A column by Stephen S. Roach.

Americas debt-ceiling might be just as commendable as Germany's prohibition against debt financing which will take effect 2016 and 2020 respectively. A column by Hans-Werner Sinn.

While crises increase demand for central-bank cooperation to deliver the global public good of financial stability, they also dramatically increase the costs of cooperation. A column by Harold James.

Ray Soudah, founding partner at advisory boutique MilleniumAssociates, speaks about Bank Frey and the problems Swiss private banks are facing.

Professor Wu Jinglian, China’s most renowned and influential economist, has been at the center of the economic reform for 30 years, moving between academic and policy roles. He received «Finanz und Wirtschaft» in Beijing for an interview and talked about the proposal on further reforms he presented to the government in April. He is worried about the Chinese economy and sees significant dangers, if the reforms are not pushed forward. Wu considers comprehensive economic reforms as inevitable to avoid social crises.