The richest country in the world is living beyond its means, says Joseph Stiglitz. The question is not when, but how hard, the landing will be America has been borrowing abroad at the rate of $2 billion a day to pay for its huge trade deficit, with its imports vastly exceeding its exports. The richest…

We will soon be able to determine our children’s personalities, as well as their gender and health, says Gregory Stock. Indeed, it might be considered reckless not to When people ponder the challenges that technology will pose in the generations ahead, they typically think of global warming or globalization. Such issues, however, pale beside the…

While Japan’s reform and recovery are under way, says Heizo Takenaka, the minister responsible for privatizing the post office, plenty of challenges remain When I took office as a member of Junichiro Koizumi’s inaugural administration in 2001, the three letters NPL stood simply for “non-performing loans”. They now stand for Japan’s “new political landscape”. Democracy…

Whether he likes it or not, Ben Bernanke will be running the world’s central bank, says Edwin Truman. If he does it well, it will be good for America too On February 2, the Greenspan Federal Reserve will become the Bernanke Federal Reserve. It will be in good hands. The reason is not because Ben…

The problems posed by ageing are manageable, says Adair Turner. Far more worrying is the population explosion that threatens to overwhelm economic and social progress in developing countries The challenges created by an ageing society are major political issues in many developed countries and will increasingly be on the agenda in some developing countries, China…

Governments should lift outdated rules on who can own airlines and where they should fly, says Willie Walsh The airline industry is at the heart of globalization. Without commercial jet travel, companies and countries could not do business with each other, economic growth would fade away and the people of the world would be poorer….

America needs a laser-like focus on innovation, says Mark Warner, governor of Virginia If you watch the news out of Washington or, for that matter, listen to the most passionate speeches in the chambers of many of America’s statehouses, you might think that the republic faces a series of crises about posting the Ten Commandments,…

In 2005 millions rallied to the war on poverty, but poor countries also have a responsibility to use aid effectively and transparently, says Paul Wolfowitz This past year, the international community has rallied around high-profile summits, concert stadiums and street demonstrations to demand action in the global fight against poverty. These events triggered a series…

London faces immense challenges, says its mayor, Ken Livingstone, but it will rise to them The year 2005 was challenging and exhilarating for London, and July was undoubtedly the most significant month. News that our bid to stage the 2012 Olympics had been successful, confounding the pundits and triggering an un-British euphoria, was followed within…

We should concentrate on preventing the spread of AIDS, malaria and remedying dietary deficiencies, rather than waste money on climate change, says Bjørn Lomborg The World Economic Forum’s mission is improving the state of the world. Ideally, dealing with the world’s woes would be simple: we ought to deal with them all. We should win…