Saudi Arabia ’s cabinet approved the National Transformation Program (NTP) that outlines bold reform measures to transform its economy and make it less reliant on oil. The NTP is a blueprint of the key reforms...
It is a quarter century since the reforms of 1991. I have written earlier about what difference the reforms made. First, there has been no payments crisis since the reforms, against one roughly every decade...
In a bid to bolster the electricity generation capacity of the energy-poor nation, the government is looking to build several coal-fired plants in the coming years. But activists oppose them citing environmental risks. The plan...
The decline of US manufacturing in the cacophony of regional and national indices, which started in mid-2014, is a sight to behold. Today we got two national indices for April. Both added more gloom to the...
This short piece on budget 2016-17, can hardly claim to be a comprehensive or even a partial overview of all the announcements made today. I merely focus very briefly on a few aspects that relate...
If Indian fiscal policy were to be summed up in one word, it would be anti-growth. Indian governments routinely borrow money to finance a substantial proportion of their expenditure; these borrowings add to their debt,...
Pauper or billionaire: Switzerland prepares for a vote on a basic income for all. Here are the arguments pro and con – and why the referendum is most likely to fail. To work or not...
India is home to the fourth largest number of millionaires in Asia, with the country hosting 236,000 individuals with assets of over $1 million by the end of 2015, according to a recent report published...
“One must care about a world one will never see,” said Mahatma Gandhi according to prime minister Narendra Modi: that is how he began his speech to the general assembly of the United Nations. Well,...
The World Economic Forum is underway in Davos. The global capital markets are off to one of their worst years ever, the threat of terrorism hangs over us, like the Sword of Damocles, GDP growth, except...
India has a young population. The demographics of the country are such that the number of young people in the population is high. At the same time the country has an aging population. The proportion...
George Fisher was partner in a firm of auctioneers. He was well enough off to send his son, Ronald, to Harrow in 1904. But he lost his wealth soon after. Ronald worked hard on his...