Matthew C. Klein and Michael Pettis— The drive south across the Detroit River from the U.S. city of the same name to the Canadian city of Windsor only takes about twenty minutes. For nearly a century, the big three American automakers have exploited this proximity by operating plants in both
Matthew C. Klein— The distribution of income has macroeconomic consequences. Under certain conditions, income concentration (rising inequality) can make society as a whole more prosperous. Other times, such as in the past few decades, however, high or rising inequality makes everyone worse off than they otherwise would be. The trade
George Magnus— When Mark Antony utters the words ‘let slip the dogs of war’ after the assassination of Julius Caesar, he is thought to be referring to devices in civilised societies that allow or inhibit war. For a long time, China and the US have had spats over specific trade
John R. Bockstoce— The fur trade in North America was an important part of the continent’s economic and social evolution. For better and for worse, from the sixteenth to the early twentieth centuries, the fur trade caused changes in Native American societies. It provided wealth but simultaneously pushed the boundaries of
Jack Ogden— Mention of diamonds stirs up a variety of emotions and images, from Marilyn Monroe singing “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” to conflict stones, and, of course, the perennial questions as to how big and how much. Approaching diamonds through the eyes of a historian, and traveling back
Stephen Roach— From Donald Trump to Bernie Sanders, the trade debate and its impact on American workers is being distorted at both ends of the political spectrum. I will dispense with the politically correct critique of foreign trade. As a card-carrying economist I am certainly familiar with the benefits of