Log in Subscribe Register My account Digital & mobile Newsletters RSS Classifieds Help Friday February 18th 2011 Search Home World politics All Economics Business & finance Economics Science & technology Culture Site index Print edition Markets & Data AMERICA'S FISCAL TROUBLES Free exchange The latest cop-out The Economist Asks In this blog, our correspondents consider the fluctuations in the world economy and the policies intended to produce more booms than busts Will the euro-zone economy shrink in 2011? Yes No View results after you vote Economics by invitation Get background or join the discussion >> How close is America to fiscal crisis? America is bankrupt (Laurence Kotlikoff) Advertisement There is no fundamental deficit crisis (Brad DeLong) Barack Obama has ducked the challenge of grappling with America’s medium-term deficit woes (22) More » A feeble offering from the president; but there are a few signs of hope (12) Economics by invitation: How close is America to fiscal crisis? Twitter Get the very latest economics news by following The Economist's economics coverage on Twitter: @econeconomics. CENTRAL BANKS A more complicated game The West’s financial crisis has shaken public confidence in its leading central banks. Yet it has also led to an expansion of their duties and powers (3) From our blogs Mario Draghi should lead the European Central Bank (21) Free exchange Inside the race to run the ECB Economist asks: Will the euro-zone economy shrink in 2011? Government of the rich, by the rich, for the rich (1) Why is policy so responsive to the preferences of the wealthy? More » IRELAND'S CRISIS After the race Most commented 1. Germany's economy: Angela in Wunderland Once among the richest people in Europe, the Irish have been laid low by a banking collapse and the euro zone’s debt crisis. What now? (13) Asia view 2. China's reaction: Build a wall Exporting yoga 3. China, India and the Karmapa Lama: The Karmapa's comeuppance? Japan and India strike an important trade agreement More » Ireland’s new government should stick with pro-growth policies (8) Topic page: Ireland 4. Charlemagne: The union within the union 5. Burgernomics: Please help us compile the Big Mac index Economics interactives INFLATION Mervyn's dilemma 6. American deficits: The budget act 7. Climate change: Why don't Americans believe in global warming? The latest Economist poll of forecasters Inflation rising to 4%; interest rates stuck at 0.5%: something has to give (7) But inflation could help China rebalance Most recommended 8. Daily chart: Global alcohol consumption: Drinking habits (1) Topic page: Inflation 9. Climate change: Americans and global warming, continued 10. America the not-so-weird: How exceptional is America, really? Over the past five days BOOMING BRAZIL How tough will Dilma be? The new government sets out to cool an overheating economy (7) Brazil is the hot new private-equity market Europe's economies are moving in different directions Advertisement (13) Topic page: Brazil AMERICA'S ECONOMIC HEADACHES On their own The government considers new ways to help ailing states (4) Suburban retail is still struggling Track the growth of debt around the world (6) Too many workers are out of the labour force (16) VIETNAM'S CURRENCY CRISIS Going, going, dong The only solutions in sight are woefully short-sighted (10) Another day, another dong devaluation EIU Latest blog posts - All times are GMT The Vietnamese find clever ways to dodge official currency controls (1) Worries about renewed overheating (Mar 2010) What we're reading (3) EUROPEAN ECONOMIC INTEGRATION From Eastern approaches - 38 mins ago After Mubarak From Multimedia - 1 hour 8 mins ago Social Security and longevity (Mark Thoma) Pact of uncompetitiveness Dangers lurk in Franco-German plans for a more tightly integrated euro zone (29) Leaders are still avoiding decisive steps Return of the Meskhetians A life's value depends on the agency (New York Times) (42) Charlemagne: What is Angela Merkel signalling? (197) Partisan conflict and fiscal prudence From Democracy in America - 2 hours 10 mins ago On Watson (Slate) Not very fettered Also on Watson (Tom Lee) Rocking Africa From Buttonwood's notebook - 2 hours 13 mins ago From Prospero - 2 hours 13 mins ago Topic page: The euro zone Tremors From Newsbook - 2 hours 17 mins ago New economics papers TRENDS IN ECONOMICS I O USA Net fiscal stimulus during the Great Recession (Joshua Aizenman and Gurnain Kaur Pasricha) The contemporary Keynes Which economist is doing most to shape post-crisis thinking? (8) Economists give their "most influential" lists From Daily chart - 2 hours 23 mins ago More from our blogs » Predicting economic market crises using measures of collective panic (Dion Harmon, Marcus de Aguiar, David Chinellato, Dan Braha, Irving Epstein, and Yaneer Bar-Yam) Economist asks: Is Ben Bernanke the most influential economist of the past decade? (6) GERMANY'S ECONOMY Products & events Stay informed today and every day Subscribe to The Economist's free e-mail newsletters and alerts. Angela in Wunderland What Germany’s got right, and what it hasn’t (1301) Highlights Get e-mail newsletters Buttonwood What's behind the success of German business? (16) Subscribe to The Economist's latest article postings on Twitter Betting on Ben Among the G7, Germany is clearly the top economic performer (11) In education, an emphasis on the practical Follow The Economist on Twitter (5) Economist asks: How strong is Germany's economy? (2) See a selection of The Economist's articles, events, topical videos and debates on Facebook. CHINESE ECONOMIC STATISTICS Follow The Economist on Facebook Fact-checking Hu Jintao Central banks have been supporting share prices Has China really saved American consumers $600 billion? - Free exchange (57) Did China really create 14m jobs? Free exchange (34) Economics focus Learning to like inflation Discussion: Is the world too dependent on China? Also on this channel The economics profession New world order Internationalisation has boosted Europe’s academic clout (4) Higher inflation could help to rebalance China’s economy China's luxury boom The Middle Blingdom Sales of costly trifles are even better than you think (14) Cloud computing A market for computing power A new spot market makes cloud computing a commodity (1) Classified ads About The Economist online About The Economist Media directory Staff books Copyright © The Economist Newspaper Limited 2011. All rights reserved. Career opportunities Advertising info Legal disclaimer Contact us Subscribe Accessibility Privacy policy [+] Site feedback Terms of use Help