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Katharina Pistor

Katharina Pistor

Writing for PS since 2000
39 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).

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  1. The New Washington Consensus
    pistor39_Julia Demaree NikhinsonGettyImages_trump_inauguration_ceos Julia Demaree Nikhinson/Getty Images

    The New Washington Consensus

    Jan 28, 2025 Katharina Pistor sees no daylight remaining between US private business and the federal government.

  2. Capitalism Is Driving Democracy’s Death Spiral
    pistor38_Beata ZawrzelNurPhoto via Getty Images_capitalismprotest Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images
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    Capitalism Is Driving Democracy’s Death Spiral

    Nov 15, 2024 Katharina Pistor argues that the financialization of the global economy has come at the expense self-governance.

  3. Outsourcing Our Future to For-Profit AI
    pistor37_Dan KitwoodGetty Images_deepmind Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

    Outsourcing Our Future to For-Profit AI

    Oct 17, 2024 Katharina Pistor worries that we have already ceded control to self-interested private corporations and their shareholders.

  4. To Google or Not to Google?
    pistor36_Thilina KaluthotageNurPhoto via Getty Images_google Thilina Kaluthotage/NurPhoto via Getty Images

    To Google or Not to Google?

    Aug 22, 2024 Katharina Pistor describes how the search-engine giant crossed the line in acquiring and maintaining its monopoly.

  5. American Business Will Regret Writing Off Democracy
    pistor35_Chip SomodevillaGetty Images_trump and business Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    American Business Will Regret Writing Off Democracy

    Jun 3, 2024 Katharina Pistor explains why endorsing Donald Trump is a bad bet for today’s titans of the US economy.

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  1. hausmann119_Christine OlssonGettyImages_northvolt_bankruptcy Christine Olsson/Getty Images
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    When Companies Fail to Learn, They Learn to Fail

    Ricardo Hausmann explains how the inability to identify and address knowledge gaps can doom even the most promising projects.
  2. berahab1_LUDOVIC MARINAFP via Getty Images_gabonforest Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images
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    How to Make Carbon Pricing Work for Africa

    Rim Berahab & Otaviano Canuto argue that policies must be structured to facilitate, not obstruct, the continent’s shift to renewables.
  3. jma6_NurPhotoGettyImages_china_evs_trade NurPhoto/Getty Images
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    Green Free Trade in a Protectionist Age

    Ma Jun envisions regional arrangements that facilitate the exchange of climate-friendly goods and services.
  4. mazarei1_Sayed HassanGetty Images_suezcanal Sayed Hassan/Getty Images
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    Egypt’s Economic Crisis May Not Be Over

    Adnan Mazarei urges the international community to push for long-overdue governance and economic reforms.
  5. iyer2_SIA KAMBOUAFP via Getty Images_malariavaccine Sia Kambou/AFP via Getty Images
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    Climate Displacement Is Also a Health Crisis

    Jayasree K. Iyer proposes a four-pronged strategy to ensure that essential medicines reach vulnerable populations.
  6. rogoff258_Fabrice CoffriniGettyImages_trump_at_davos Fabrice Coffrini/Getty Images
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    Europe in Trump’s Crosshairs

    Kenneth Rogoff

    US President Donald Trump’s return to the White House represents a grave threat to Europe’s security, economy, and clean-energy transition. The European Union’s top priority must be to find ways to reduce energy prices, even if it means recalibrating some of its green policies.

     urges EU policymakers not to allow the new US administration to distract them from key policy priorities.
  7. pistor39_Julia Demaree NikhinsonGettyImages_trump_inauguration_ceos Julia Demaree Nikhinson/Getty Images
    1

    The New Washington Consensus

    Katharina Pistor

    If a picture is worth a thousand words, the image of Big Tech founders and CEOs filling the front row at Donald Trump’s inauguration is a manifesto. We have just watched private business take over the US government in broad daylight, and history suggests that this won’t end well.

     sees no daylight remaining between US private business and the federal government.
  8. elaynaoui2_EYERUSALEM JIREGNAAFP via Getty Images_garmentproductionafrica Eyerusalem Jiregna/AFP via Getty Images
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    Economic Development after the Washington Consensus

    Karim El Aynaoui & Hinh T. Dinh propose a new policy framework adapted to an era that has rendered the prevailing growth model obsolete.
  9. GettyImages-1322520591
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    Yi Fuxian on China's decision-making, economic prospects, demographic crisis, and more

    Yi Fuxian warns that China's government and mainstream analysts are still underestimating the severity of the country's demographic crisis, identifies some of the gravest policy mistakes Donald Trump's administration is at risk of making vis-a-vis China, explains why China’s middle class will never be strong enough to bring about a democratic transition, and more.

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