economic crisis
Reports on economic crisis See all →

New Opportunities 2021: Latin America’s difficult outlook

Economic downturns, political mismanagement and natural disasters have sharply increased poverty rates and inequality. As discontent grows, populist politicians could make big gains. China will look to increase its influence in the region, challenging the Biden administration’s commitment to cooperation and multilateralism.

The Fed and ECB: Average inflation targeting for two
Central banks have long maintained that price stability means 2 percent inflation. Now we hear from the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank that it actually means “average” 2 percent inflation. This seemingly small change in the banks’ mission aims to contain and sustain public debt, not inflation.


Post-Covid recovery is not the main challenge ahead
The statistics describing the condition of the world economy three months after the lockdowns seem reassuring: We have not had a V-shaped recovery but GDP growth in the second part of 2020 appears to be firming up and predictions for 2021 are optimistic. However, trouble is brewing in labor markets.


What to expect from the U.S. on Venezuela?
With two months to go until the 2020 presidential election, U.S. policy on Venezuela faces new urgency. While the country has been used as a political football for domestic reasons, the crisis in Venezuela has serious consequences for the interests of America and its regional partners. Resolving that crisis is ...


Is there a Covid-19 inflation puzzle?
The world’s governments have issued massive waves of debt in response to the pandemic’s economic damage. Public deficits have exploded and central banks are taking extraordinary measures. Will there be inflation, or deflation in the post-Covid fiscal future? The crisis has produced a huge negative supply shock, but the shock ...
