Edition #39: August 8, 2024

Welcome to PS Economics, a weekly newsletter highlighting commentary on the most important issues in economics and finance.

Taxing the Superrich Is More Possible – and More Necessary – Than Ever

Gabriel Zucman welcomes recent international progress toward taxing the wealth of billionaires.

High Interest Rates Finally Bite

James K. Galbraith sees in the stock-market crash an outcome that a 17-year-old economic model fully explains.

America’s Deficit Attention Disorder - Free to Read

Maurice Obstfeld thinks the accumulation of public debt is a far more urgent problem than the trade balance.

Collective Intelligence and the Common Good

Mariana Mazzucato worries that a new buzzword is perpetuating a costly myth about how innovation and value creation work.

China’s Economy

How to Reduce Chinese Overcapacity

Yu Yongding thinks fiscal and monetary expansion could help address a controversial feature of China’s economy.

China Must Rein in Local Governments

Huang Yiping warns that these entities are now the greatest source of market distortion and financial risk in the country.

The Limits of Central-Bank Independence

Stefan Gerlach reminds monetary policymakers that they are ultimately reliant on political consensus, not law.