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Simon Johnson

Simon Johnson

Writing for PS since 2007
179 commentaries

Simon Johnson, a 2024 Nobel laureate in economics and a former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, is a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, Faculty Director of MIT’s Shaping the Future of Work initiative, and Co-Chair of the CFA Institute Systemic Risk Council. He is a co-author (with Daron Acemoglu) of Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity (PublicAffairs, 2023). 

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  1. Trump Can Win Against China – in Ukraine
    johnson181_Alexander ManzyukAnadolu Agency via Getty Images_russian oil Alexander Manzyuk/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

    Trump Can Win Against China – in Ukraine

    Nov 25, 2024 Simon Johnson & Oleg Ustenko argue that forcing Russia to withdraw would yield a clearer win for the US than tariffs on Chinese imports.

  2. Only Harris Will Deliver Shared Prosperity
    johnson180_JIM WATSONAFP via Getty Images_kamala harris JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images

    Only Harris Will Deliver Shared Prosperity

    Nov 1, 2024 Simon Johnson says that Donald Trump’s discredited protectionism would benefit the few at the expense of the many.

  3. Trump’s Proposed Tariffs Are a Gift to the Rich
    krueger52_FREDERIC J. BROWNAFP via Getty Images_shipping port us FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images

    Trump’s Proposed Tariffs Are a Gift to the Rich

    Oct 7, 2024 Simon Johnson cites research showing that middle-class US households would foot the bill.

  4. How to Create More Good Jobs
    bildt104_Doug MillsPoolGetty Images_semiconductors Doug Mills/Pool/Getty Images

    How to Create More Good Jobs

    Aug 2, 2024 Simon Johnson touts the 2022 US CHIPS and Science Act, which will nurture geographically dispersed innovation hubs.

  5. Human Capital for the Age of Generative AI
    palacio140_Getty Images_AI Getty Images

    Human Capital for the Age of Generative AI

    May 30, 2024 Simon Johnson & Eric Hazan explain how adoption of the technology could help suitably qualified workers climb the wage ladder.

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  1. sirleaf10_ SIMON MAINAAFP via Getty Images_Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah Simon Maina/AFP via Getty Images
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    Three Cheers for Namibia’s First Female President

    Ellen Johnson Sirleaf explains why Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s electoral victory is a defining moment for women’s leadership in Africa.
  2. ito42_Jeff GritchenMediaNews GroupOrange County Register via Getty Image_USshipping Jeff Gritchen/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Image
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    Trump’s Tariffs Will Backfire

    Takatoshi Ito warns that the US president-elect's plans will increase America's trade deficit and alienate its allies.
  3. haldar40_PoolGettyImages_trump_ny_trial Pool/Getty Images
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    Trump’s Victory Over the Rule of Law

    Antara Haldar considers whether a defining component of American democracy has been lost for good.
  4. kupchan15_RAMI AL SAYEDAFP via Getty Images_syria Rami al-Sayed AFP via Getty Images
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    Rebuilding Syria After Assad

    Charles A. Kupchan & Sinan Ülgen

    Bashar al-Assad’s fall from power has created an opportunity for the political and economic reconstruction of a key Arab state. But the record of efforts to stabilize post-conflict societies in the Middle East is littered with failure, and the next few months will most likely determine Syria's political trajectory.

     say that Syrians themselves must do the hard work, but multilateral assistance has an important role to play.
  5. posner37_David BerdingGettyImages_unitedhealthcare_protest David Berding/Getty Images
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    Trump’s Pro-Corporate Populism Cannot Last

    Eric Posner

    The US president-elect has vowed to round up illegal immigrants and raise tariffs, but he will probably fail to reinvigorate the economy for the masses, who will watch the rich get richer on crypto and AI. America has been here before, and if Trump doesn’t turn on the business class and lay the blame at its feet, someone else will.

     thinks the next president will be forced to choose between big business and the forgotten man.
  6. huang5_Mladen AntonovGettyImages_hongkong_shopping_street Mladen Antonov/Getty Images
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    What Will Happen to China’s Economy in 2025?

    Huang Yiping identifies three key challenges that the government must overcome to achieve 5% growth.
  7. mfespinosa7_Sean GallupGetty Images_womanCOP29 Sean Gallup/Getty Images
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    Did COP29 Fail Women?

    María Fernanda Espinosa is unimpressed by the latest UN Climate Change Conference's outcomes for gender-responsive finance.
  8. Brandon Bell/Getty Images
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    Why Are So Many Indians Fleeing to America?

    Shashi Tharoor points out that even middle-class families increasingly see no future in their home country.
  9. eichengreen198_JENS SCHLUETERAFP via Getty Images_volkswagen Jens Schlueter/AFP via Getty Images
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    The Crisis that Germany Needs

    Barry Eichengreen argues that the country's economic woes reflect decades-old institutions that are no longer fit for purpose.

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