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Simon Johnson

Simon Johnson

Writing for PS since 2007
181 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. Greenland’s Future Must Be Decided by Greenland’s People
    johnson184_Picture AllianceGettyImages_greenland_flag Picture Alliance/Getty Images

    Greenland’s Future Must Be Decided by Greenland’s People

    Mar 3, 2025 Simon Johnson dismisses the argument that US national security depends on gaining control over the island.

  2. The Economic Consequences of Trump 2.0
    johnson182_MANDEL NGANAFP via Getty Images_trump Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

    The Economic Consequences of Trump 2.0

    Jan 3, 2025 Simon Johnson explains why reality is unlikely to come close to matching the US president-elect's rhetoric.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

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  1. krueger84_Justin SullivanGetty Images_UStrade Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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    Trump’s Tariffs Will Hurt Mexico – and America

    Anne O. Krueger thinks the US administration’s trade restrictions will end up undermining its stated immigration goals.
  2. mahroum23_Andrew HarnikGettyImages_elon_musk_cabinet_meeting Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
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    Americans Will Miss Their Government When It’s Gone

    Sami Mahroum explains what will follow from the indiscriminate gutting of federal agencies and mass firings.
  3. frankel169_Alex WongGettyImages_trump_gulf_of_america Alex Wong/Getty Images
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    Trump’s Imaginary Victories

    Jeffrey Frankel says that to call the US president a “transactional” leader is to ignore his utter lack of strategic thinking.
  4. johnson184_Picture AllianceGettyImages_greenland_flag Picture Alliance/Getty Images
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    Greenland’s Future Must Be Decided by Greenland’s People

    Simon Johnson dismisses the argument that US national security depends on gaining control over the island.
  5. mpaxton1_jonathanfilskov-photographyGetty Images_mangrove jonathanfilskov-photography/Getty Images
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    Nature Needs Its Own ID

    Midori Paxton shows how digital tools can drive a data-driven approach to protecting our planet’s environmental health.
  6. fedyk9_Oleg PalchykGlobal Images Ukraine via Getty Images_ukrainedrone Oleg Palchyk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
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    Ukraine’s True Value

    Anastassia Fedyk & Emilia Marshall

    Ukraine’s immense industrial and human resources once helped make the Soviet Union a global power, and Russian President Vladimir Putin is counting on them to achieve his neo-imperialist dream. With the US now behaving like a Kremlin proxy, supporting Ukraine has become an existential imperative for Europe.

     warn that abandoning the country could hand Vladimir Putin the opportunity to restore Russia’s imperial status.
  7. sierakowski116_Andrew HarnikGetty Images_trumpvancezelensky Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
    6

    America Is Gone – Europe Must Replace It

    Sławomir Sierakowski

    Donald Trump and J.D. Vance’s verbal assault on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office was shocking but not surprising. As the Trump administration rapidly destroys America's credibility and international standing, Europe must mobilize its ample resources to replace America as a global leader.

     says the Trump administration's Oval Office fight with Ukraine's president is a moment that will live in infamy.
  8. yu80_Morris MacMatzenGettyImages_us_trade Morris MacMatzen/Getty Images
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    Can America Maintain External Sustainability?

    Yu Yongding explains why demand for foreign capital inflows to offset the country’s savings shortfall may go unmet.
  9. rodrik232_ ROBERTO SCHMIDTAFP via Getty Images_trumpflag Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images
    2

    The Coming Showdown in Trumpworld

    Dani Rodrik points out that a coalition comprising incompatible financial and ideological interests cannot last.

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