News and Analysis: 01-15 June 2016 | EmergingFrontierMarkets.com

Based in: Manila, Philippines

Posted on Wed, 29 June 2016:

Ben Bernanke: Economic implications of Brexit, Brookings Inst (blog), 28 June 16:
Although bank stock prices are taking hits, esp. in the UK and Europe, a financial crisis seems quite unlikely at this point. Central banks are monitoring the funding and financial conditions of banks, and so far serious problems have not emerged, writes fmr Fed chair / Inst distinguished fellow

Why skills matter, OECD (blog), by A Schleicher, 28 June 16:
What links the classroom and lecture hall to the workplace? Skills. In order to measure and improve adult skills around the world, we have tested the skills of more than 50,000 16-to-65-year-olds in Chile, Greece, Indonesia, Israel, Lithuania, New Zealand, Singapore, Slovenia and Turkey, writes OECD educ/skills dir

New publication recognizes global efforts to promote competition in emerging markets, World Bank, 15 Apr 16:
The rivalry between firms seeking to win customers' business is increasingly recognized as a critical driver of econ growth. The publication highlights the tools competition authorities - the govt bodies charged with promoting and enforcing competition in markets - have developed to implement their work

Posted on Mon, 27 June 2016:

UK Treasury chief tries to reassure markets, Dow Jones Biz News, 27 June 16 [courtesy Nasdaq]:
Speaking to reporters before markets opened, Treasury chief George Osborne said the UK economy is strong and its banks and financial system are healthy. But he warned there could be "an adjustment" in the economy due to the uncertainty over the future trading arrangements with the EU

Pranab Bardhan: Could a basic income work better in developing countries?, Project Syndicate, 24 June 16 [via WEForum (blog)]:
The old idea of recasting the welfare state by instituting an unconditional universal basic income has lately been capturing imaginations across the political spectrum, writes U Calif-Berkeley prof (Poor should receive basic income grants - economist Deaton, Taipei Times)

ACT now to avoid being stuck in traffic, Asian Devt Bank (blog), by S Saxena, 24 June 16:
As my car crawls along the highway, inching forward at an interminably slow pace in bumper-to-bumper traffic, my mood vacillates between impatience and sheer annoyance. For if there is one thing that is now as sure as death and taxes, it's traffic congestion, writes ADB principal transport specialist

Posted on Fri, 24 June 2016:

Central banks move to calm jittery markets after Brexit shock, Reuters, 24 June 16:
Some of the world's biggest central banks offered financial backstops to soothe plunging markets on Fri. With memories of the global financial crisis still fresh, central banks are concerned that market liquidity could quickly dry up (Asia central banks, policy makers wade in to calm markets)

What does Brexit mean for Asia?, BBC News, by K Vaswani, 24 June 16:
In the immediate term - it's the impact on markets and currencies. Already, policy makers in Japan, Korea and India are saying not much impact in terms of their respective nations' real economies, as they try to reassure investors. But businesses in some major Asian economies will be hit

Woetzel and assoc: Capturing China's $5 trillion productivity opportunity, McKinsey, June '16:
The investment-led growth model that underpinned China's extraordinary progress has served it well. Yet some strains associated with that approach have become evident. It won’t be easy, but shifting to a productivity-led economy could add trillions of dollars to its growth, write a team of senior partners / consultants

Posted on Wed, 22 June 2016:

Amartya Sen: The dark shadow, New Statesman, 14 June 16:
It is not hard to understand the temptation of many in Britain to call it a day and "go home". And yet it would be a huge mistake for Britain to leave the EU. The "home" to go back to no longer exists in the way it did when Britannia ruled the waves, writes Nobel Laureate '98

Developing economies' untapped revenues, IMF Survey Mag, 17 June 16:
Tens of billions of tax dollars go uncollected in developing nations every year, and whether it is because govts do not have the tools to implement tax policies or because there are not enough taxpayers on their books, the lost revenue often leaves a nation unable to provide basic services to its people

What are global value chains? - A brief intro, World Bank, 16 July 15:
The term "global value chain" is now part of the daily lexicon in trade and development. Participation in global value chains, the international fragmentation of production, can lead to increased job creation and economic growth

Posted on Mon, 20 June 2016:

Paul Krugman: Fear, loathing and Brexit, NYT, 17 June 16 [via Malay Mail]:
There are still 4 1/2 months to go before the presidential election. But there's a vote (this) week that could matter as much for the world's future as what happens here: Britain's referendum on whether to stay in the European Union, writes Nobel Laureate '08

"Economists for Brexit" back campaign to leave EU, BBC News, 28 Apr 16:
A group of 8 influential economists have thrown their support behind the Leave campaign in the UK's referendum.. It is the 1st time a group of economists have publicly backed Brexit. Their econ arguments follow several warnings vs Brexit from orgs incl IMF and OECD (About "Economists for Brexit")

Rajan defends inflation fight, says India should stay course, Bloomberg News, 20 June 16:
Indian central bank Governor Raghuram Rajan, in his 1st comments since surprising India with his exit plans on Sat, defended his monetary policy and called on his successor to continue fighting inflation after he leaves in Sep (Rajan's message about his plan to step down)

Posted on Fri, 17 June 2016:

Gary Hufbauer: Ivory tower economists, free trade, and workplace woes, Peterson Inst (blog), 14 June 16:
In the midst of debate over Trump’s promise to impose high tariffs on imports from Mexico and China, media commentators commonly assert that ivory tower economists have acclaimed free trade pacts but ignored workers who were victims of these pacts, writes Inst senior fellow

Homi Kharas: Changing views of how to change the world, Brookings Inst (blog), 10 Mar 16:
World leaders concluded three large agreements last year. And there is a common thread to these agreements. They each reflect a new theory of how to change the world that is not made explicit but has evolved as a matter of practice, writes Inst's Global Economy & Devt prog dep dir

New approach needed to maximize tax take in low-income countries, London School Econ, Apr '16:
Developing-country policy makers and the intl institutions that advise them should not default to using the same tax policies that work in high-income nations but instead consider alternative approaches that work better in their contexts, acc. to the Intl Growth Center based at LSE

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