Peru’s supreme court is forcing the government to honor bonds issued 40 years ago, to compensate the victims of “land reform.” The government should welcome the opportunity. As Alexander Hamilton discovered in the 1790s, paying off dubious obligations of defunct government entities is one of the best ways to establish a state’s credibility with long-term […]

As commentators worldwide have noticed, the global recovery since 2009 has been exceptionally weak. Books such as Stephen King’s “When the money runs out” (Yale, 2013) are now suggesting that the era of Western affluence is over. This reflects considerable writing in this column over the last few years; indeed I first mooted the idea […]

Croatia’s accession to the European Union on July 1 was met with far fewer welcoming noises than had been apparent for the new entrants in 2004 or even Bulgaria and Romania in 2007. It’s fairly clear that the more ambitious fantasies of an EU extending to Turkey and into the wilds of central Asia are […]

China is reportedly planning a city of 250 million people within the next ten years, hoping it will spur economic growth. The United Nations’ population estimates for 2100 have Lagos, Nigeria with a population of about 150 million in that year. The Financial Times last week had a snooty editorial asserting that the 21st Century […]