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ECB: Pushing banks too far?
After the last economic crisis, the European Central Bank put in place strict rules to ensure banks were in a strong financial position. Now, to counter the pandemic's effects, authorities are pushing banks to take more risks in lending to households and businesses. But banks see a rough road ahead, and are less enthusiastic about doing so, even if it means receiving profitable incentives.
As Indian agriculture expands, farmers and reform prospects suffer
India’s food output has nearly quadrupled over the past 50 years, but farm households – more than half the country’s population – are in some ways worse off. Rural distress is weighing on the country’s politics and eroding the government’s political base. If India wants to follow the path of ...
Ukraine in limbo
Well into the fourth year after Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the outbreak of hostilities in Donbas, Ukraine finds itself in a curious state of limbo. There is good news – the economy has bottomed out, the war in the east has frozen at low intensity, and the danger of ...
Euro crisis: time for a rerun?
After Greece obtained its third bailout last summer, Europe turned its attention to other crises. But it would be naive to conclude that the sovereign debt crisis is over. The Greek drama is still far from a happy ending; in Portugal and Spain, fragile left-wing governments may want to abandon ...
China’s overseas coal investments challenge climate goals
In recent years, rich Western countries and international financial institutions have adopted policies to restrict the construction of new coal power plants overseas. However, China has now risen to become the largest global provider of public financing for such projects – and is powering full steam ahead. Though they contradict ...
