Showing 1 - 10 of 41
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.
Derelict outpost
Oped, Postbag, Published on 03/12/2025
» Re: Toxic threat sweeps all before it", (BP, Dec 1). Your recent report left me more than a little confused about a village I have known for 37 years. The description bore little resemblance to the village I visit maybe four times a week when I visit my local supermarket or withdraw money from the ATM. Those golden years of rafting took place before the highway was constructed over the mountain range.
Adam Smith and the moral economy we have lost
Oped, Antara Haldar, Published on 12/11/2025
» With the 250th anniversary of The Wealth of Nations approaching next year, the world is gearing up to honour Adam Smith. But which Smith should be recognised? The hard-nosed "founding father" of modern economics, or the philosopher who wrote The Theory of Moral Sentiments? Scholars have wrestled with this question, a riddle known as "Das Adam Smith Problem", for centuries, because it concerns not just dualities within Smith's thought, but also our own uneasy relationship with morality and markets.
Rethinking finance beyond aid
Oped, Justin Yifu Lin & Yan Wang, Published on 06/11/2025
» Traditional donors have sharply scaled back their aid commitments to developing countries over the past year. Some, like the United States, have virtually eliminated their aid programmes. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), official development assistance (ODA) from member countries declined by 7.1% in 2024, its first annual drop in six years.
The future Asean Economic Community
Oped, Satvinder Singh, Published on 01/10/2025
» This year, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) has launched the bloc's new goal -- New Asean 2045: Our Shared Future and its Strategic Plans. Under this, it is worth reflecting on the words of Vincent Van Gogh: Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.
Fare hike fury
Oped, Postbag, Published on 16/09/2025
» Re: "Cabs can catch up", (Editorial, May 27).
Uyghurs deportation a strategic risk
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 07/03/2025
» Regardless of official spin, the government's decision to deport 40 Uyghurs to China was a strategic mistake on multiple levels.
The key to narrowing the gap
Oped, Pascal Lamy, Agnes Kalibata & Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, Published on 31/01/2025
» In 2015, United Nations member states unanimously pledged to work towards "peace and prosperity for people and the planet" by meeting 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Although the agenda was unprecedented in its ambition -- end hunger, slash inequality, spur economic growth, achieve gender equality, arrest climate change and ensure access to water, sanitation and energy -- many expected that the world would make significant progress. But the sad, hard truth is that only 12% of the SDGs' 140 measurable targets are heading in the right direction, and more than 30% are stalled or moving in reverse.
My New Year's resolution: Give up on elections
Oped, Joe Mathews, Published on 04/01/2025
» For the new year, you might have resolved to give up booze or bonbons. Maybe you should join me in giving up elections instead. Or, at the very least, in giving up the habit of investing money, time, and hope that elections might improve our communities and our world.
The unheralded Bronx teens behind 'breaking'
Oped, Thomas Guzman-Sanchez, Published on 10/08/2024
» The Olympians competing in the inaugural breaking exhibition event at the Paris Games are sure to perform incredible feats of acrobatics while music plays. But you won't catch them doing actual rhythmic dance outside of a few shuffle steps.