Friday, August 14, 2015
Johan Norberg: India Awakes
At an event at Cato, Norberg said that “India is waking up because the government is starting to take a nap every now and then (imposing fewer regulations)”.
“What you can do and at what price matters more than who you are or what caste,” said Norberg.
“It’s morning in India but that is when the work day begins.”
India has set the goal of being in the top 50 countries in the World Bank’s Doing Business Index. Today it is at number 142 out of 189 countries.
A lesser known fact about Norberg is that he helped me inaugurate the IMF’s Book Forum: the topic was “Capitalism and its Critics”. The transcript makes for very interesting and prescient reading today – all the speakers (Jerry Muller, Ann Florini and Norberg) brought their ‘A’ game. For a short summary of the event click here.
Since 1991, 250 million people have been lifted out of poverty in India. Johan Norberg’s documentary India Awakes discusses how this happened.
It used to be said that Indians succeeded everywhere except in India. Now Indians are starting to succeed in India.
At an event at Cato, Norberg said that “India is waking up because the government is starting to take a nap every now and then (imposing fewer regulations)”.
“What you can do and at what price matters more than who you are or what caste,”
Posted by at 5:50 PM
Labels: Profiles of Economists
Recent Labor Market Reforms in Spain: A Preliminary Assessment
“The 2012 labor market reforms are making a difference. Wage moderation is contributing to a visible recovery in headline employment growth, and the reforms have made the labor market more resilient to shocks. There is also some evidence that the contribution of temporary contracts to employment growth has started to decrease. However, the reliance on temporary workers remains strong overall and further structural reforms will be required to reduce the still very high level of long-term, structural unemployment.”
From a new IMF study:
“The 2012 labor market reforms are making a difference. Wage moderation is contributing to a visible recovery in headline employment growth, and the reforms have made the labor market more resilient to shocks. There is also some evidence that the contribution of temporary contracts to employment growth has started to decrease. However, the reliance on temporary workers remains strong overall and further structural reforms will be required to reduce the still very high level of long-term,
Posted by at 5:25 PM
Labels: Inclusive Growth
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
House Prices in Jordan
“Mortgages slowed down in tandem with real estate prices; exposure of banks to real estate credit risk has remained limited”, notes the latest IMF report on Jordan.
Posted by at 9:00 AM
Labels: Global Housing Watch
Monday, August 10, 2015
House Prices in United Arab Emirates
“The real estate market in the UAE has cooled down after expanding strongly in 2013 and the first half of 2014. By end-2014, sales price increases moderated in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and in March 2015, growth in residential sales prices turned slightly negative in both Emirates, in year-on-year terms (…). These developments are taking place amid increased supply, particularly in Dubai, and reduced demand associated with lower oil prices and appreciating US dollar, and following the introduction of mortgage regulations based on loan-to-value ratios and an increase in the property transfer fee in late 2013. Read the full article…
Posted by at 9:00 AM
Labels: Global Housing Watch
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Price Expectations and the US Housing Boom
A new IMF paper by Pascal Towbin and Sebastian Weber looks at the shifts in house price expectations as an important driver of the US house price boom that preceded the financial crisis.
The authors find “that the contribution of price expectation shocks to the U.S. housing boom in the 2000s has been substantial. In our baseline specification, price expectation shocks explain roughly 30% of the increase. Another 30% of the increase in house prices remains, Read the full article…
Posted by at 12:00 PM
Labels: Global Housing Watch
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