Showing 1 - 10 of 177
It's the economic history, stupid
Oped, Iker Saitua, Published on 14/01/2026
» Every year, I walk into a first-year lecture hall in Bilbao at the University of the Basque Country (EHU) and watch shoulders slump. The title of the course I'm teaching -- "Economic History" -- draws a similarly dejected reaction from my students: "Meh." "Boooring." "What's this even for?" Some call it "the history class", as if it belonged to another century.
Fair charter vote
Oped, Postbag, Published on 13/01/2026
» Re: "Somchai criticises EC's 'biased' info", (BP, Jan 12).
Big step forward
Oped, Postbag, Published on 06/01/2026
» Re: "Actor sued under new harassment law", (BP, Dec 30).
The treacherous sycophancy of the populists
Oped, Michael Burleigh, Published on 15/12/2025
» Until a few days ago, it had never crossed my mind that people across Europe -- including Londoners like me -- were living in a strife‑afflicted hell hole, "suffocated" by regulations, stripped of political liberties, and bound for "civilisational erasure". So, it was with some surprise that I read this assessment in the new US National Security Strategy -- a document that echoes pseudo‑intellectual propaganda more than resembling any serious foreign‑policy analysis.
Is Takaichi Sanae the 'Iron Lady' of Japan?
Oped, Koichi Hamada, Published on 10/11/2025
» For the first time in its history, Japan's parliament has selected a woman, Takaichi Sanae of the Liberal Democratic Party, to be prime minister. In this sense, Ms Takaichi has already followed in the footsteps of her political idol, Margaret Thatcher -- the UK's first female PM. But whether she is remembered as Japan's own "Iron Lady" will depend on her ability to manage three key challenges: inflation, low female labour-force participation and a fraught geopolitical environment.
France stumbles through an autumn of woe
Oped, John J. Metzler, Published on 05/11/2025
» France has faced a tumultuous autumn. The usual strikes, government shuffles, and sensational events -- from a high-profile daylight heist at the world-famous Louvre Museum to the imprisonment of a former president -- have characterised a disquieting period.
Building capacity where it counts
Oped, Mariana Mazzucato & Rainer Kattel, Published on 06/10/2025
» After years of underinvestment, governments around the world are struggling to keep pace with growing demands. The consequences are now widely evident, as underfunded and unprepared public agencies falter whenever crises strike. The problem is not "slimming" government down, but rather rendering it more capable, strategic, outcome-oriented and a good partner in solving the greatest problems of our time: providing adequate housing for all, strengthening climate resilience and ensuring that technology makes all our lives better, not just a few "bros" richer.
In an Irish memorial, I see echoes of Palestine
Oped, Andy Young, Published on 03/10/2025
» The figures by the River Liffey in Dublin are more clothes than flesh. The Famine Memorial, created by Rowan Gillespie, holds in bronze a moment of suffering, the settling in of the Great Hunger, which would cut Ireland's population by more than a quarter, the gone either dead or emigrated.
Market still 'wrong' on climate
Oped, Fiona Watson, Published on 01/10/2025
» As business, government and nonprofit leaders debate the future of climate action ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Brazil, the global economy remains vulnerable to acute and chronic climate-driven shocks whose impact could be more severe than that of the 2008 global financial crisis. At a time when many governments and businesses continue to underestimate and underprice physical climate risk, we must remember that neither financial markets nor regulators are always right. What if their current complacency about climate risks is catastrophically wrong?
Floods 'a recurring nightmare'
Oped, George G van der Meulen & Chamniern Vorratnchaiphan, Published on 16/09/2025
» Thailand has faced floods for more than a century. Some years are worse than others, but the pattern is consistent. The catastrophic 2011 floods remain the most painful reminder: according to the World Bank, they caused US$46.5 billion (1.5 trillion baht) in economic losses, displaced 13 million people, and claimed approximately 800 lives. Much of the country's industrial heartland was submerged for months, severely impacting global supply chains.