Archive for August, 2009
Japanese Election: Ruling LDP Gets Hammered
From The New York Times: Japanese Opposition Wins Elections in Landslide By MARTIN FACKLERPublished: August 30, 2009 TOKYO In a rare display of democratic muscle in this traditionally apolitical nation, Japan’s voters cast out the Liberal Democratic Party for only the second time in postwar history, handing a landslide victory to the opposition in hard-fought ...Read more.
Getting Health Care Incentives Right
David Goldhill’s father, 83 but still working, walked into a non-profit Manhattan hospital with pneumonia. Five weeks later he was dead from hospital-borne infections. Appalled by the negligence and primitive record-keeping of a top-rated hospital, Goldhill spent two years researching the US health system. The September Atlantic features Goldhill’s report on how misdirected incentives seriously ...Read more.
The Crisis and US Export/Import Destinations
Wonder how this reflects on NAFTA (especially from a Mexican perspective–they’re getting absolutely killed by this). From Vox EU: Transmission of the global recession through US trade Michael J. Ferrantino Aimee Larsen29 August 2009 International trade has transmitted demand contractions across national boundaries throughout the crisis. This column analyses the transmission of the recession through ...Read more.
Calculating the Benefit of Our Present Healthcare
Many people aready know much of this, but these are points that deserve to be hammered into our heads these days. Here’s the essential point: Let’s start with value. Most Americans are blissfully unaware that their healthcare system provides appallingly little value for their money. This is because when it comes to costs, they see ...Read more.
China's "Bailout" of Taiwan
From Reuters: 02:25 August 26th, 2009China’s bailout of Taiwan is good for the regionBy: Wei Gu Wei Gu is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are her own If market performance is anything to go by, Taiwan is the biggest beneficiary of China’s economic stimulus. Because of Taiwan’s heavy dependence on exports to Western consumers, ...Read more.
This Is What We Get for All the Bailout Money
Two related posts here: Simon Johnson of Baseline Scenario looks at the shakeout in the banking system that he says is leading to the creation of a two-tier economy that benefits connected-insiders of virtually Naomi Klein proportions (that’s him, not me). And here’s also a FT piece from early July that goes into the matter ...Read more.
Excellent Radio on Afghanistan
Doug Henwood’s weekly radio program is just about the best there is on politics and economics generally, but the August 20th show, featuring Tariq Ali and the August 15th one, with Christian Parenti, should fill in the innumerable cracks left by the article we posted earlier this week on the Af-Pak situation somewhat. The interview ...Read more.
Indicators That Fell Through The Cracks…
…this week (sorry about that!):UK business investment falls at fastest rate since records began in 1966, despite rock-bottom interest rates (well, not quite at US levels, but…). Once again, super-lavish quantitative easing proceeds are being hoarded by banks. The number of Americans working part-time for lack of full-time work has, in an astonishing development, almost ...Read more.
China's Stimulus and Dodgy Statistics
From The Guardian: Too early to hail China’s stimulus success China may be on course to hit its annual economic growth target, but the official figures don’t tell the full story Zhang Hong guardian.co.uk Friday 28 August 2009 07.00 BST It seems likely now that China will reach its annual economic growth target of 8%, ...Read more.
More Telecoms Regulation?
Let’s hope the administration’s regulators are more aggressive in pursuing this hated quartet than they have been regarding certain financial institutions….From today’s Financial Times: Watchdog to query ‘big four’ mobile phone set-upBy Paul Taylor in New York Financial TimesPublished: August 28 2009 03:00 | Last updated: August 28 2009 03:00 US regulators launched a broad ...Read more.
