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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. toubeau1_ Maja HitijGetty Images_marzvonderleyenweber Maja Hitij/Getty Images
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    Europe’s New Power Trio

    Simon Toubeau foresees Friedrich Merz, Ursula von der Leyen, and Manfred Weber boosting the bloc’s security and economy.
  2. ostry6_Anadolu GettyImages_canada_axe_the_tax Anadolu/Getty Images
    1

    Canada Must Learn From the Green Backlash

    Jonathan D. Ostry calls for climate policies to reflect social realities, instead of being based solely on economic efficiency.
  3. moyo33_Michael M. SantiagoGetty Images_USstockmarket Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
    1

    Will There Be a Sustained US Market Selloff?

    Dambisa Moyo identifies several indicators that investors and business leaders should keep an eye on.
  4. ahuq7_Jim WatsonGettyImages_trump_executive_order Jim Watson/Getty Images
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    Trump’s Tariffs Are Illegal, but That Won’t Matter

    Aziz Huq sees an unlawful trade war as a window into America’s crumbling constitutional order.
  5. phassan1_Nava JamshidiGetty Images_afghanistanwomen Nava Jamshidi/Getty Images
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    Let Afghan Women Lead

    Palwasha Hassan & Shafiqa Khpalwak urge the international community to support some of the world's most repressed yet tenacious people.
  6. sierakowski116_Andrew HarnikGetty Images_trumpvancezelensky Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
    1

    Saving Ukraine

    By choosing to side with the aggressor in the Ukraine war, President Donald Trump’s administration has effectively driven the final nail into the coffin of US global leadership. Unless Europe fills the void – first and foremost by supporting Ukraine – it faces the prospect of more chaos and conflict in the years to come.

  7. op_livingston6_cienpies_handsmoney cienpies/Getty Images
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    Abundance and Its Discontents

    James Livingston

    For most of human history, economic scarcity was a constant – the condition that had to be escaped, mitigated, or rationalized. Why, then, is scarcity's opposite regarded as a problem?

     asks why the absence of economic scarcity is viewed as a problem rather than a cause for celebration.
  8. elerian175_Spencer PlattGetty Images_nyse Spencer Platt/Getty Images
    Free to read
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    What Role for the Bond Vigilantes?

    J. Bradford DeLong, et al. consider whether the return of the “bond vigilantes” will become a persistent issue for major economies
  9. blanchard17_Money SharmaGettyImages_von_der_leyen_modi Money Sharma/Getty Images
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    Maintaining Progress in a Post-American World

    Olivier Blanchard & Jean Pisani-Ferry identify four big global challenges that can still be tackled through “coalitions of the willing.”

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