Political Economy

Late last month the Senate passed a non-binding budget resolution that encourages the selling or transfer of federal lands to state and local governments. With a Republican Congress, the longstanding question over federal management of public lands is resurfacing once again with renewed urgency....

As ever in the run-up to a general election, Britain is seeing an increased interest in how the economy has been performing. The electoral fate of a government is often expected to relate directly to the state of the nation’s...

Political positions are no longer hereditary in modern democracies, but political dynasties nevertheless exist around the globe and dominate political office in East Asia and Japan in particular. But research shows that dynastic politicians in Japan can be socially inefficient...

For seasoned observers of general election campaigns, it is not surprising to see the Conservative Party styling themselves as the business-friendly party. Traditionally depicted as “the party of the rich”, the Conservatives have never struggled to win the support of...

Much has been made of the 100-plus business figures that came out in support of the Conservative Party. A letter published on the front page of The Daily Telegraph and the huge amount of debate it has provoked, has implicitly...

Both sides of US politics are mooting the closure of the US Export-Import Bank. Commonly known as the Ex-Im bank, it helps support US exporters and the buyers of US goods. But it will cease its financing operations in June...

Democracy in Bangladesh is broken. The country recently witnessed political deadlock causing violence and crippling unrest. Bangladesh’s dysfunctional two-party system, dominated by the Awami League and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), has seen party leaders wage personal vendettas to grab power....

Thailand’s General Prayuth Chan-ocha announced in February that Thailand would hold elections to restore democracy in early 2016. Despite their many efforts to make the case for the military takeover, Prayuth has realised that the military and its supporters will...

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s seven-year fight against sodomy charges ended on 10 February 2015. His five-year prison sentence was widely seen as a victory for his political opponents in using the law to silence him (again). The opposition coalition...

The House of Commons has voted in favour of compulsory, standardised and logo-free packaging for cigarettes. If also approved by the House of Lords, the new law will enter into force in England in 2016. This will mean trademarks, graphics...

The greatest threat to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his ambitious agenda is political instability in Tokyo. The spectre of such instability is re-emerging after a remarkable period of quiet as cabinet ministers in Abe’s government are being tarred...

In recent years the power of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) has increased dramatically. If this trend continues, it may bear important implications for Vietnam’s political outlook. In recent years the power of the Central...

The recent Japanese hostage crisis has divided public opinion on its dealings in the Middle East. On 20 January, the extremist organisation Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) released an online video showing two Japanese men kneeling in orange...

Given the scandals, bonus increases and plummeting lending to small and medium-sized British businesses, reform of the banking system is likely to be a hot topic in the run-up to the general election. It is not surprising then that Labour...

The Great Financial Crisis lingers.  That the world economy continues to grow does not change that fact.  There are different lenses from which one can view the crisis and seek to understand its implications. We are drawn to a lens that...