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Curated by Project Syndicate

The Big Bank Battle

12 commentaries

Simon Johnson, a professor at MIT's Sloan School of Management and a former chief economist at the IMF, is one of the world’s most influential critics of the global financial system. In this selection of commentaries, written exclusively for Project Syndicate, he considers what policymakers should do to prevent another financial crisis – and why they are not doing it.

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  1. Big Banks’ Tall Tales
    pa3667c.jpg Paul Lachine

    Big Banks’ Tall Tales

    Apr 25, 2013 Simon Johnson

  2. The Political Importance of Elizabeth Warren
    warren, elizabeth fair use. (c): Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

    The Political Importance of Elizabeth Warren

    Feb 25, 2013 Simon Johnson

  3. Financial Reform’s Breakthrough Year
    pa3454c.jpg Paul Lachine

    Financial Reform’s Breakthrough Year

    Dec 21, 2012 Simon Johnson

  4. Too Big To Handle
    pa2970c.jpg Paul Lachine

    Too Big To Handle

    Oct 24, 2012 Simon Johnson

  5. Finance’s Crisis of Legitimacy
    px2561c.jpg Pedro Molina

    Finance’s Crisis of Legitimacy

    Jul 18, 2012 Simon Johnson

  6. Predators and Professors
    c923590446f86f380e922228_pa2684c.jpg Paul Lachine

    Predators and Professors

    Jun 18, 2012 Simon Johnson

  1. goldberg33_Lauren DeCiccaGetty Images_shippinglaos Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images

    The Trade Shifts Redefining Economic Development

    Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg & Michele Ruta consider the long-term implications of three major trends that could reshape globalization.
  2. fischer224_Chip SomodevillaGetty Images_trumpinauguration Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    Trump at the Gates

    Joschka Fischer urges Europeans to recognize that they are now on their own in an increasingly dangerous world.
  3. stiglitz347_Kevin DietschGettyImages_bye_biden Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

    The End of Progress?

    Joseph E. Stiglitz

    Though the United States has long led the world in advancing basic science and technology, it is hard to see how this can continue under President Donald Trump and the country’s ascendant oligarchy. America’s rejection of Enlightenment values will have dire consequences.

    predicts that Donald Trump’s second administration will be defined by its rejection of Enlightenment values.
  4. varoufakis123_China PhotosGetty Images_chinayuandollar China Photos/Getty Images

    China’s Trump Dilemma

    Yanis Varoufakis

    Will the China hawks in Donald Trump’s administration railroad him into a confrontation that transcends tariffs and embraces financial sanctions of the type the US and the European Union imposed on Russia? If they do, China's leaders will have to decide whether to decouple from the dollar-based international monetary system.

    thinks the real choice facing Chinese leaders may be whether to challenge the dollar's hegemony head-on.
  5. lamy10_Badru KatumbaGettyImages_jackfruit_farmer Badru Katumba/Getty Images

    The Key to Narrowing the Development Gap

    Pascal Lamy, et al. explain how investments in African agri-food systems can advance many of the Sustainable Development Goals.
  6. galbraith39_rudall30Getty Images_businessmanforest rudall30/Getty Images

    Economists’ Way Out of the Wilderness

    James K. Galbraith argues that the continued dominance of nineteenth-century thinking has resulted in a catalogue of failure.
  7. benami221_Justin SullivanGetty Images_trump Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

    Trump the Revolutionary Isolationist

    Shlomo Ben-Ami hears echoes of the Monroe Doctrine in the US president's threats to acquire Greenland.
  8. hubbard4_Chen MengtongChina News ServiceVCG via Getty Images_scottbessent Chen Mengtong/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images

    How the Trump Administration Can Hit Its Growth Target

    Glenn Hubbard urges policymakers to focus on the three pillars of increased productivity.
  9. oneill129_Saul LoebGettyImages_us_treasury Saul Loeb/Getty Images

    Trump’s First Test Will Be the Bond Market

    Jim O'Neill wonders if recent market signals will keep the new administration’s radicalism in check.

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