Reports of Henrique Schneider
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Focus Germany: Taxing climate subsidy, subsidizing climate tax
Germany is struggling to achieve its current environmental goals. A new policy package under consideration now is unlikely to provide a clear path forward. The taxes and subsidies it foresees contradict each other and could ultimately impede technological advancement. The proposal has proven disappointing to climate activists and economic critics ...
Swiss economic success: diversity as capital
Nothing seems to stop the prosperity of the Swiss economy. Its steady growth is seemingly impervious to the political turmoil in the EU, superpower tensions, the vagaries of world trade and even the overly muscular Swiss franc. Switzerland’s highly diverse economy and its unique political system together form an ecosystem ...
2019 Global Outlook: Another year near zero
It has been a decade since global interest rates reached the zero lower bound, where monetary policymakers lose their ability to stimulate the economy using conventional policy tools. Among the largest global central banks, only the United States Federal Reserve has set its benchmark above 2 percent. Will this anomaly ...
Opinion: The EU’s digital lag
A dozen or more global giants have emerged in the online data business, but none in the European Union. That is not for lack of trying. The EU has issued voluminous regulations on data protection and dangled investment incentives for digital entrepreneurs, yet this outpouring of directives and money has ...
Scenarios for North Korea
Why has Kim Jong-un decided to enter peace talks with South Korea now? There are several possibilities. He could be trying to reintegrate his country with the global community, maneuvering for tactical advantage or preparing for an exit from power. The latter carries the most risk and could destabilize the ...
Blockchain as a principle of governance
Blockchain, the fundamental technology behind new cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, is based on a novel governance system that is radically different from the centralized approach used today in banks, corporations and governments. Blockchain’s numerous advantages may prove too important to be ignored, even in the face of opposition from defenders ...
Global Outlook 2018: Dangerous waters ahead for the world economy
All around, the wind seems to have filled the sails of the world economy. From consumer spending to investment to stock market indices, the sailing seems smooth. But some dangerous currents, including debt-fueled liquidity and low productivity, are converging below the surface. Without an effort by the captains of the ...
Opinion: The OECD’s problematic global tax ‘standard’
The OECD’s global standard for the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) in tax matters is far less global, standardized and automatic than its name suggests. It is structured so that countries tend to apply the rules bilaterally, leading to a complicated web of regulations that the “standard” was designed to ...
