Trade
The TPP and intellectual property rights
Earlier posts have discussed how the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) – if it comes into force – will be part of the process of setting global rules across a wide range of issues,…
Australia needs a modern and globalised tax system
The Abbott Government will shortly release a discussion paper on the Australian tax system. It will be the first step towards the much anticipated tax white paper. International…
Will the Trans-Pacific Partnership be a good deal for Australia?
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is close to the make-or-break stage. It will either get US Congressional blessing soon or lose momentum and slip from the agenda. So it is…
The 'beggar-thy-neighbour' currency wars
Leon Berkelmans is in good company in defending the policy actions which have come to be described as 'currency wars'.
Ben Bernanke gave the same defence of the US Fed's actions…
How much is too much? The debt mystery
The 2008 financial crisis left no doubt that ill-considered debt can cause major damage not just to an individual country, but to the global economy.
You might think that by now,…
Is globalisation slowing?
In the decades leading up to the 2008 financial crisis, international trade typically grew much faster than GDP.
This reflected increasing global economic integration: tariff…
A Chinese canal in Nicaragua?
There is pride in Hong Kong that a local private company is pushing ahead with perhaps the world's largest-ever civil works project, the 280km long, 500m wide Nicaragua Canal…
Why Peter Thiel is wrong about monopolies
A few weeks ago Sam Roggeveen quoted PayPal founder Peter Thiel, who argued that competition is over-rated and monopoly would enhance innovation. We shouldn't be surprised that…
House of cards: Will Congress fast-track Obama's Trans-Pacific Partnership?
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a house of cards. The blockbuster trade agreement, spanning the Pacific Rim and covering a score of topics, is the subject of intense…
APEC in Beijing: Too many trade initiatives and too little progress
The APEC Leaders' Meeting underway in Beijing seems to be finessing the various conflicting and overlapping trade initiatives and avoiding serious damage. But it is not resolving…