Opinion

Covid-19 economy before Zoom and Amazon

Economists concerned about slowing productivity have spent the past decade hotly debating the value of free digital services such as Google’s web search and Amazon’s online store. But those online services have proven their worth during the pandemic. And COVID-19 may ultimately push our ...

Opinion

Abe defied expectations to build a better Japan

Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-serving Prime Minister, is resigning due to ulcerative colitis. He leaves behind a Japan that is both economically stronger and more socially liberal than the one he inherited.When Shinzo Abe took over Japan’s leadership in late 2012, I was extremely skeptical...

Opinion

Reason to protect workers from Covid-19

Harvard economist Melissa Dell recently won the 2020 John Bates Clark medal, which is given to outstanding economists younger than 40. Dell’s most famous research concerns the importance of institutions in a country’s long-term political and economic development. It carries a dire w...

Opinion

Coronavirus exposes US as civilization in decline

Crises such as wars, depressions, natural disasters and pandemics can reveal differences in how effectively a society organizes itself. In the 1600s and 1700s, for example, Britain’s more advanced tax system allowed it to outspend Spain and France, while Prussia’s efficient army let it o...

Opinion

Worst case for climate change isn’t realistic

In recent years, much of the commentary about climate change has gone from sternly serious to wildly despairing.A new report from the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns that the effects of climate change are accelerating and that the world has barely more than a de...

Opinion

Science was never unique to the West

Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro caused a stir recently when he declared that experimental science and basic research are unique to Western culture:“The idea of [hypotheses] being rejected by evidence...(T)he pure idea of exploring science for its own sake ... seems fairly unique to the We...