Essays & News

  Over the past two decades, many developments have raised questions about the role of central banks and how vulnerable they are to political pressure. It is also worth asking to what extent central bankers can influence politics, and whether such a state of affairs is desirable. In a world where national financial institutions act […]

  Since taking office as Argentina’s president in December 2023, Javier Milei has done something remarkable. He has reduced the annual inflation from 211 percent to 33.5 percent and balanced the budget for the first time in over a decade. His unexpectedly strong victory in Sunday’s midterm elections appears to validate his approach domestically, with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s announcement […]

  Prison cells are a fascinating economic laboratory, where for over a century thriving markets in goods, services, labor—and even money—have existed. Nowhere else do you find so many people craving entertainment and consumer goods, alongside so many innovative individuals willing to bend the rules to supply them. Everyday prison life also nicely illustrates how […]

  In recent decades, the G20, together with the OECD, has sought to establish global regulatory frameworks aimed at managing the economy, expanding reporting and surveillance obligations, and tightening control over the population. Much of this effort has focused on extracting as much tax revenue as possible from businesses and individuals, while weaving a tight […]

  The Netherlands has long been an innovative, competitive and prosperous mid-sized European democracy. It is currently the fifth-largest economy in the European Union and the 18th-largest in the world. The Dutch consider themselves “big among the small,” holding disproportionate influence within organizations like the EU and NATO. Yet political deadlock now grips the nation; […]