Economics | The World in Crisis

China needs to pave ‘One Belt One Road’ with green finance, say experts

8 January 2016

China’s huge foreign investment plans will need green banking to be environmentally sustainable, writes Liu Qin. China’s One Belt, One Road initiative, which aims to further the country’s influence and trade links with almost 60 countries, mainly in Asia and Europe, could be a major source [read more]

China’s rebalancing timetable – Michael Pettis

29 November 2015

By Michael Pettis · November 29, 2015 We often read in the press rather alarming stories about the rise of an ugly and belligerent nationalism in China, but while these stories are certainly very real, after the November 13 bombings in Paris I was struck by a very different kind of Chinese [read more]

Thin Air’s money isn’t created out of thin air

19 October 2015

Michael Pettis A recurring conversation I have with clients concerns the ability of banks to create credit, and of governments to monetize debt, and whether this ability is the solution to or the cause of financial instability and economic crisis. Monetarists and structuralists (to use Michael [read more]

How Global Supply Chains now dominant cross-border trade

8 October 2015

Such are the complexities of global supply chains that the idea that any product, other than the most basic, is actually “Made in Germany”, or the United States, or in any particular country, is no longer true. Products produced in this way are said to use the global value chain (”GVC”). In [read more]

Inequality as a factor in social unrest

8 October 2015

The extremes of wealth and income inequality that have developed within the OECD countries, and particularly in the United States, since the early 1980s, have created unbalanced societies, which are by their nature more unstable than was the situation in the 1950s and 1960s. Arguably the mass of [read more]

If we don’t understand both sides of China’s balance sheet, we understand neither

1 September 2015

With so much happening in China in the past month it seems that there are a number of very specific topics that any essay on China should focus. I worry, however, that we get so caught up staring at strange clumps of trees that we risk losing sight of the forest. What happened in July this year, [read more]

Do markets determine the value of the RMB?

18 August 2015

By Michael Pettis · August 18, 2015 Last Tuesday the PBoC surprised the markets with a partial deregulation of the currency regime, prompting a great deal of discussion and debate about the value of the RMB. Part of the discussion was informed by a consensus developing in one part of the market [read more]

When do we decide that Europe must restructure much of its debt? – Michael Pettis

25 February 2015

By Michael Pettis · February 25, 2015 · Balance sheet fragility It is hard to watch the Greek drama unfold without a sense of foreboding. If it is possible for the Greek economy partially to revive in spite of its tremendous debt burden, with a lot of hard work and even more good luck we can [read more]