[Benn Steil] The real cost of 'de-dollarization'

At the end of World War II, the United States accounted for more than half the world’s economic output and gold reserves. The United Kingdom was effectively bankrupt, with the remnants of the sterling area bound together by capital and trade controls. Once the British pound became convertible in July 1947, owing to US insistence, it succumbed to overwhelming selling pressure. The dollar, which was pegged to gold at $35 an ounce, was buoyed by America’s privileged position within the

Aug. 21, 2023

[Robert Fouser] Young people reject partisan bickering

The 25th World Scout Jamboree, which began in a sweltering campground atop the reclaimed land of Saemangeum on the coast of North Jeolla Province and ended with a K-pop concert at Seoul World Cup Stadium, leaves much controversy in its wake. Shortly after the opening on Aug. 1, news of extreme heat and unsanitary conditions began to spread on social media. As more Scouts began to suffer from exhaustion and heat stroke, the British and American Scouts left the camp, raising fears that the event w

Aug. 18, 2023

[Lee Kyong-hee] Radical, mistimed ministry shakeup

The Ministry of Unification is reportedly being overhauled and its focus will shift to human rights in North Korea and intelligence analysis. Organizations for inter-Korean dialogue, exchange and cooperation are set to be shut down or downsized and merged. Given the prolonged stalemate in South-North relations and the grim prospects for a breakthrough anytime soon, an extensive revamping of operations can be justified. However, a broad-brush restructuring clearly departs from the ministry’

Aug. 17, 2023

[Jason Furman] Why Is US inflation falling?

In just one year, inflation in the United States has fallen from a peak of about 9 percent to just 3 percent. Standard economic models suggest that such rapid disinflation would be possible only with a large increase in unemployment. But the unemployment rate has remained steady, at around its 50-year low, for the entire period. Do economists need to throw out our models and start over? While no macroeconomic theory is perfect, and humility is always in order, a closer look at the data suggests

Aug. 17, 2023

[Patricia Murphy] Donald Trump and the eleven dwarfs

You all already know Donald Trump, the favorite for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. But have you met the supporting characters in his story? There’s Grumpy, the Florida governor, and Friendly, the senator from South Carolina. You know Smarty, the former UN ambassador, and Screamy, the New Jersey governor who helped Trump get elected the first time around, but had a change of heart after Trump was in the White House. There’s Talky, the young businessman who is full of new

Aug. 16, 2023

[Kim Seong-kon] World Scout Jamboree and Korean society’s ageism

Recently, two incidents left us gloomy and depressed. One was the World Scout Jamboree debacle and the other was a Korean politician’s biased remark on senior citizens. The jamboree disaster seriously damaged the image of South Korea in the international community, and the politician’s suggestion that senior citizens’ voting rights should be restricted according to their longevity irrevocably ruined the image of the Democratic Party of Korea to which she belongs. The two incide

Aug. 16, 2023

[Jeffrey Frankel] The end of zero interest rates

What a difference two years make. In 2021, when interest rates were near zero in the United States and the United Kingdom and slightly negative in the eurozone and Japan, the consensus was that they would remain low indefinitely. Astonishingly, as recently as January 2022, investors put the probability of rates in the US, eurozone, and the UK rising above 4 percent within five years at only 12 percent, 4 percent, and 7 percent, respectively. After adjusting for expected inflation, real interest

Aug. 15, 2023

[Ward Hayes Wilson] ‘Oppenheimer’ overhypes nuclear weapons

The movie “Oppenheimer” hypes a serious issue of national survival, and in the process makes matters much, much worse. By mythologizing J. Robert Oppenheimer (and in the process ascribing godlike powers to nuclear weapons), the movie sets back efforts to control these dangerous devices. True, people who watch the movie will emerge frightened about nuclear war. But decades of terrifying pictures of ash, rubble and burned bodies have not, apparently, stifled governments’ desire f

Aug. 14, 2023

[David Redman] American education and the great white lies

Recent battles over how to teach history in American schools have focused on views of America’s domestic racism, but that’s only one piece of the problem of how we view history. Our pre-college curriculums and popular histories are filled with stories of great white men who single-handedly changed the world. This heroification, however, is often as much a made-up history as the stories of Marvel heroes in the movies. Many of these supposed ground-breakers were in fact preceded by gen

Aug. 14, 2023

[Peter Singer] Feed people, not factory farms

After Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, ships used to export grain from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports stopped traveling there because they were liable to be attacked by Russian forces, which suspected them of carrying military supplies. That caused grain prices to soar to record levels and sparked fears of famine in countries in the Middle East and Africa that had previously imported Ukrainian grain, especially wheat. Eventually, in July 2022, Russia agreed to give ships tra

Aug. 11, 2023

[Kim Seong-kon] Watching 'Barbie,' 'Top Gun Maverick' ＆ 'Mission: Impossible'

Three recent blockbuster movies, “Barbie,” “Top Gun Maverick” and “Mission: Impossible -- Dead Reckoning” have one thing in common. They invariably deal with the compelling issues we are now facing in this challenging era. “Barbie” delves into the core issues of feminism. “Top Gun Maverick” portrays the virtues of the maverick spirit that we need to cope with the international crisis caused by countries that are threatening to use nucle

Aug. 9, 2023

[Jeff Nelligan] My military family and AVF at 50

Plebe Summer is underway at the US Naval Academy, where 1,184 young men and women grind through the second week of their “college” experience, complete with obstacle courses, firearms and fully-clothed plunges into the Chesapeake Bay. These determined young people represent one element of the All-Volunteer Force, which marked its 50th anniversary this year after military conscription ended in 1973. It is one of the most remarkable institutions this nation has ever produced. I should

Aug. 8, 2023

[J. Bradford DeLong] Investment theory in practice

Suppose that you had invested your wealth in a broadly diversified set of stocks, starting in January 1871, with the dividends being rolled back into your portfolio, and with your portfolio being rebalanced every January to maintain diversification. If you had also paid no taxes and incurred no fees, you would have had 65,004 times your initial investment, as of this past January. By contrast, if you had performed the same experiment with long-term US Treasury bonds, you would have only 41 time

Aug. 7, 2023

[Antara Haldar] Which is the real Europe?

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the European Union. When the Maastricht Treaty took effect in 1993, Europeans embarked on a historically unique experiment in supranational governance and shared sovereignty. The EU’s single market allows for the free movement of goods, services, and capital among 27 member states; and, critically, its Schengen Area means open borders between member states (and free movement rights even in non-Schengen member states), granting more than 400 million p

Aug. 7, 2023

[Robert Fouser] English proficiency of South Koreans

How well do South Koreans speak English? The development of translation apps and decreased personal interaction after the pandemic may be making this question less important, but English education still occupies an important place in the South Korean society. English is a required language from elementary school through university. Scores of standardized English tests are usually required for employment and advancement in companies. English kindergartens and other types of private schools remain

Aug. 4, 2023

[Lee Kyong-hee] Ideological divide over disputed war hero

During my first visit to the Dabudong War Memorial Museum, footsteps could be easily heard. Only a handful of visitors paced through the small hillside museum that recalls pivotal, last-ditch fighting in the early stage of the Korean War. The museum’s secluded site off the Seoul-Busan highway and a simple display of old howitzers and bazookas and memorial steles to fallen soldiers created a solemn atmosphere. They silently memorialized the unsung heroes who turned the tide of the war by pr

Aug. 3, 2023

[Kim Seong-kon] 'Unmanned': Living with AI

In Isaac Asimov’s “True Love,” an artificial intelligence takes over the identity of protagonist Milton Davidson and ruins his life. At first, Milton wants to find a perfect partner. In pursuit of this goal, he provides all the information about himself to his super-intelligent computer program Multivac or “Joe,” as Milton calls it. Joe then proceeds to comb through databases to find a girl who impeccably matches Milton. At last, Joe finds an ideal match for Milton,

Aug. 2, 2023

[Martin Schram] Truth shatters a Big Lie

For more than two years, Donald Trump’s most patriotic MAGA true believers have been accepting with unshakable trust what they were sure was rock-solid evidence that their leader really won reelection. They genuinely believe they’ve seen all the proof they need that the 2020 election was stolen from them. They have seen the videos on the websites they trust most, showing votes being stolen, changed, thrown away, whatever. They are sure they have seen proof. That’s why they are

Aug. 1, 2023

[Ana Palacio] Politicians impede practical climate solutions

Recent climate negotiations have been heated, to say the least. Beyond the usual recriminations over financing, the choice of Sultan Al Jaber -- chief executive of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) -- as the president of the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in the United Arab Emirates has fueled considerable controversy. But if the world is to make genuine progress on climate change, the engagement of both the oil and gas industry and the Gulf region is essentia

Aug. 1, 2023

[Rachel Bronson] Ways to honor Oppenheimer’s legacy

J. Robert Oppenheimer was the first chair of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ board of sponsors, a group composed of the world’s leading scientists based at the University of Chicago. Because I serve as the bulletin’s president, I am fielding a lot of questions lately about why I think Christopher Nolan’s eponymous film about Oppenheimer, which hit theaters nationwide on Friday, is resonating so deeply with the public. The all-star cast, feted director, and script

July 31, 2023