Skip to main content
Access provided by

Katharina Pistor

Katharina Pistor

Writing for PS since 2000
28 commentaries

Katharina Pistor, Professor of Comparative Law at Columbia Law School, is the author of The Code of Capital: How the Law Creates Wealth and Inequality (Princeton University Press, 2019).

Sort by: Show:
  1. How the Public Loses Out When Politicians Cash In
    pistor27_ Kay Nietfeldpicture alliance via Getty Images_shcroder Kay Nietfeld/picture alliance via Getty Images

    How the Public Loses Out When Politicians Cash In

    May 24, 2022 Katharina Pistor sees former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder’s conflicted interests as symptomatic of a bigger problem.

  2. From Shock Therapy to Putin's War
    pistor26_AFPAFP via Getty Images putin yeltsin AFPAFP via Getty Images
    Free to read

    From Shock Therapy to Putin's War

    Feb 28, 2022 Katharina Pistor offers a reminder of the West's own role in smothering Russian democracy in its crib.

  3. The EU Court Punts on the Rule of Law
    pistor25_Arne Immanuel Bänschpicture alliance via Getty Images_europeancourtofjustice Arne Immanuel Bänsch/picture alliance via Getty Images

    The EU Court Punts on the Rule of Law

    Feb 21, 2022 Katharina Pistor worries that the recent ruling against Poland and Hungary sets the stage for more legal hair-splitting.

  4. The Legal Gift that Keeps on Grifting
    pistor24_JUSTIN TALLISAFP via Getty Images_shell Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images

    The Legal Gift that Keeps on Grifting

    Dec 15, 2021 Katharina Pistor shows how corporations are awarding shareholders through jurisdictional arbitrage, rather than real returns.

  5. The Pandora Papers and the Threat to Democracy
    pistor23_Mykola TysSOPA ImagesLightRocket via Getty Image_pandora papers Mykola TysSOPA ImagesLightRocket via Getty Images

    The Pandora Papers and the Threat to Democracy

    Oct 11, 2021 Katharina Pistor considers the implications of new revelations into the old ways that the rich hide their wealth.

Follow Katharina Pistor

Never miss a commentary by Katharina Pistor

  1. bildt109_JAAFAR ASHTIYEHAFP via Getty Images_israelpalestinewestbank Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP via Getty Images
    1

    Hell in the Holy Land

    Carl Bildt fears that the stage is set for another major violent conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
  2. strain11_Chip SomodevillaGetty Images_fed Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
    0

    The Fed Must Not Flinch

    Michael R. Strain urges the US central bank to continue raising interest rates, despite signs of financial-sector fragility.
  3. sheng135_Carl CourtGetty Images_maldivesclimatechange Carl Court/Getty Images
    0

    Reimagining Development

    Andrew Sheng & Xiao Geng argue that grassroots engagement and social enterprise are crucial to achieving countries' aspirations.
  4. goldberg22_ERIC BARADATAFP via Getty Images_world bank ERIC BARADAT/AFP via Getty Images
    1

    What the World Bank Can Do About Climate Change

    Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg explains how the institution can maximize its contribution to the global net-zero agenda.
  5. GettyImages-1171447879
    3

    Richard Haass on Russia, Taiwan, and US democracy

    Richard Haass explains what caused the Ukraine war, urges the West to scrutinize its economic dependence on China, proposes ways to reverse the dangerous deterioration of democracy in America, and more.
  6. buiter45_Jabin BotsfordThe Washington Post via Getty Image_jeromepowell Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images
    8

    Price Stability vs. Financial Stability?

    Willem H. Buiter

    If the US Federal Reserve raises its policy interest rate by as much as is necessary to rein in inflation, it will most likely further depress the market value of the long-duration securities parked on many banks' balance sheets. So be it.

     thinks central banks can achieve both, despite the occurrence of a liquidity crisis amid high inflation.
  7. frankel145_ Richard Baker In Pictures via Getty Images_exchangerates Richard Baker/In Pictures via Getty Images
    0

    Fifty Years of Floating Currencies

    Jeffrey Frankel

    The half-century since the official demise of the Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates has shown the benefits of what replaced it. While some may feel nostalgic for the postwar monetary system, its collapse was inevitable, and what looked like failure has given rise to a remarkably resilient regime.

     explains why the shift toward exchange-rate flexibility after 1973 was not a policy failure, as many believed.
  8. harrington34_Drew AngererGetty Images_avril haines Drew Angerer/Getty Images
    0

    What Do America’s Spies Really Think About China?

    Kent Harrington thinks the intelligence community’s annual threat assessment should have delved deeper on the issue.
  9. grafton2_ SIMON MAINAAFP via Getty Images_water SIMON MAINA/AFP via Getty Images
    0

    Waking Up to the World’s Water Crisis

    Quentin Grafton, et al. see three overarching priorities for the first global water conference in almost a half-century.

Edit Newsletter Preferences

Set up Notification

To receive email updates regarding this {entity_type}, please enter your email below.

If you are not already registered, this will create a PS account for you. You should receive an activation email shortly.