For much of the last century, educators and many scientists believed that children could not learn math at all before the age of five, that their brains simply were not ready. But recent research has turned that assumption on its head — that, and a host of other conventional wisdom about geometry, reading, language and self-control in class. The findings, mostly from a branch of research called cognitive neuroscience, are helping to clarify when young brains are best able to grasp fundamental concepts. Read the complete article in the NYTimes here.
dinsdag 22 december 2009
Studying Young Minds, and How to Teach Them
L’urgence d’un fonds "vert"
Il pourrait s’autofinancer, avec l’aide des pays développés, tout en engageant les réserves d’or du FMI. Une opinion de George Soros, Président du Soros Fund Management et de l'Open Society Institute.
Lisez l'article dans LLB ici.
maandag 21 december 2009
La nouvelle folle ruée vers l'or
Le prix de l'or s'est envolé, pour dépasser les 1.100 dollars l'once. Cette récente flambée n'est qu'en partie justifiée par les fondamentaux économiques et ressemble à s'y tromper à une bulle spéculative. Le prix de l'or n'augmente nettement que dans deux situations : lorsque l'inflation est élevée et continue à croître, l'or permet de se couvrir. Et quand il y a un risque de quasi-dépression et que les investisseurs craignent pour leurs dépôts bancaires, l'or devient une valeur refuge. Les deux dernières années correspondent à ce schéma. Le prix de l'or a commencé à grimper au premier semestre 2008, lorsque les marchés émergents étaient en surchauffe, que l'inflation les menaçait et que les prix des matières premières flambaient. Ce premier enchérissement était déjà une bulle, qui a éclaté au second semestre 2008, lorsque l'économie mondiale est entrée en récession.
Lisez l'article de N. Roubini dans Les Echos.fr ici.
Sociaal vangnet voor ontslagen werknemers
Veelgestelde vragen over werkloosheid en ontslag — De crisis laat zich voelen, nu ook bij de werknemers. Al maanden regent het ontslagen bij grote en kleine bedrijven. Bij DHL, Opel, Brinks, Sanoma, Bayer, UCB, Recticel… moeten talloze werknemers op zoek naar een andere job. Hoe sterk is het sociale vangnet waarop werklozen kunnen terugvallen? Drie experts geven een antwoord op de meest gestelde vragen. Lees het volledige artikel in De Standaard hier.
Au-delà du PIB: réconcilier ce qui compte et ce que l'on compte
Le PIB est au coeur d'une tourmente. son statut de cible et de repère pour la conduite et l'évaluation des politiques économiques est remis en question. De nouveaux indicateurs tentent de pallier ses lacunes au regard d'objectifs de qualité de vie, de réduction des inégalités, de développement durable. La Commission Stiglitz a récemment rendu un Rapport à ce sujet, document qui suscite de nouvelles questions et invite à poursuivre le débat.
Lisez cet article de Regards économiques (UCL) ici.
vrijdag 18 december 2009
Pass the Bill
Yes, the filibuster-imposed need to get votes from “centrist” senators has led to a bill that falls a long way short of ideal. Worse, some of those senators seem motivated largely by a desire to protect the interests of insurance companies — with the possible exception of Mr. Lieberman, who seems motivated by sheer spite. Read Krugman's column in The NYTimes here.
ObamaCare and the Liberal Obsession
If President Obama's health-care initiative fails, there is no longer a rationale for being a liberal in the United States. Everything else on liberalism's to-do list is footnotes. Read the complete column in the WSJ here.
FISCALE FRAUDE KOST DE BURGER EIGENLIJK NIETS
Kost fiscale fraude de eerlijke belastingbetaler geld? Niet volgens WILLY DE WIT. Veel te hoge belastingen, dat kost ons geld. Als de overheid daar iets aan zou doen, dat zou pas fraudebestrijding zijn. Lees het volledige opiniestuk in De Standaard hier.
woensdag 16 december 2009
Public and private pensions: lessons from the crisis
This Policy Brief considers the lessons to be drawn from the crisis for both public and private pensions in Europe. The author, Agnes Streissler, points out that both pay-as-you-go and funded systems are dependent on economic growth and are under pressure because of demographic changes. At the same time, private systems are considerably more risky in terms of the entitlements of successive cohorts leaving the labour market.
Read this article from ETUI here.
Lutte contre la pauvreté, rapport 2008-2009
Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index is a new initiative to compare pension systems around the world. Retirement income systems perform a critical role for both individuals and societies as countries grapple with the social and economic effects of ageing populations. There is no perfect system that can be applied universally around the world. Indeed, even comparing the diversity of retirement income systems is certain to be controversial as every system is different and has arisen from each country’s particular economic, social, cultural, political and historical circumstances. However there are certain features and characteristics of retirement income systems that are likely to lead to improved benefits, an increased likelihood of future sustainability of the system, and a greater level of confidence and trust within the community.
Read the full report here.
European competitiveness report 2009
The 2009 edition of the European Competitiveness Report looks at the possible implications of the economic downturn; in particular for productivity and for some of the determinants of future EU competitiveness: the evolution of the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China); the role of high-skilled migration; the extent and conditions under which training can boost productivity; and the role of product and labour market regulations in influencing ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) investment.
Read the complete report here.
‘Tobin-taks? Een verschrikkelijk idee!’
Kapitaalmarktenlobby ICMA: ‘Taks op financiële transacties nefast voor marktwerking’ ‘Europa staat verder dan VS in macro-prudentieel toezicht’. Lees het volledige artikel in De Tijd hier.
Beleid tegen werkloosheid mist globale visie
De ruzie tussen de Vlaamse en de federale regering over het banenplan van minister van Werk Joëlle Milquet (cdH) is bijgelegd. Politiek heeft iedereen zijn slag thuisgehaald. De grote vraag is of er ook sociaal-economisch echte vooruitgang is geboekt. Lees het volledige opiniestuk van Freddy Heylen hier.
‘Wat we verloren hebben in de crisis dreigen we nooit meer in te halen’
Caroline Ven, kabinetschef premier Yves Leterme, en adjunct-directeur CD&V Niko Gobbin luiden de alarmbel in hun boek ‘De welvaartsval’. Lees het volledige interview in De Tijd hier.
maandag 14 december 2009
Voorzorgsprincipe blijft iets absurds hebben
Het ‘voorzorgsprincipe’ schraagt al twee decennia politieke beslissingen omdat wetenschappelijke zekerheid ontbreekt. Je afvragen wat er mis mee is, lijkt op ketterij en het intrappen van open deuren. Onaanvaardbare rampen die op ons af lijken te komen, vergen toch buitengewone tegenmaatregelen? Maar klimaatmodellen zijn geen voorspellingen, en dus nemen we beter ook dat voorzorgsprincipe met een flinke korrel zout. Lees het volledige opiniestuk van Freeman Dyson in De Tijd hier.
Paul A. Samuelson, Economist, Dies at 94
That lesson was reinforced in 2008, when the international economy slipped into the steepest downturn since the Great Depression, when Keynesian economics was born. When the Depression began, governments stood pat or made matters worse by trying to balance fiscal budgets and erecting trade barriers. But 80 years later, having absorbed the Keynesian teaching of Mr. Samuelson and his followers, most industrialized countries took corrective action, raising government spending, cutting taxes, keeping exports and imports flowing and driving short-term interest rates to near zero. Read the complete article on Samuelson's life and work in the NYTimes here.
Les technologies vertes juste derrière l’automobile ?
Les technologies vertes, que la Chine développe à grand pas, sont en passe de devenir le troisième secteur industriel mondial d’ici 2020, derrière l’automobile et l’électronique, selon une étude publiée par le Fonds mondial pour la nature (WWF).
Lisez l'article dans Le Soir ici.
Lisez le rapport du WWF "Clean Economy, Living Planet" ici.
vrijdag 11 december 2009
Le désordre financier menace la reprise économique
La quasi-faillite de l'émirat de Dubaï, la grave dérive budgétaire de la Grèce, les craintes grandissantes sur la situation de l'Espagne, de l'Irlande et du Portugal, ainsi que la très mauvaise santé des pays baltes font redouter l'existence de bombes à retardement dans les comptes des Etats et les bilans des banques.
Lisez l'article complet dans Le Monde ici.
donderdag 10 december 2009
Greek Debt Poses a Danger to Common Currency
As economic indicators have improved, concern about the financial crisis has abated. But the next big problem could be approaching. Greece's public deficit is skyrocketing and the country may become insolvent. The effect on Europe's common currency could be dire. Read the complete article in Der Spiegel International Edition here.
Falling Dollar Pushes Manufacturing Out of Europe
Production jobs have been moving out of Europe for years. But as the Daimler decision last week to move C-Class production to the US shows, the process is accelerating as the dollar becomes weaker. Companies from Airbus to ThyssenKrupp are opening factories in America to improve their bottom lines. Read the complete article in Der Spiegel International here.
A Chinese wind-power IPO
CHINA’S biggest producer of wind power, China Longyuan Power, is in essence a staid regulated utility. It buys turbines, erects them and sells the electricity they generate to China’s power distributors at prices fixed by the state. So why is its initial public offering next week on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange generating such excitement? Read the complete article in The Economist here.
Keynes in reverse
As more states resemble California, they threaten economic recovery. Read the complete article in The Economist here.
China’s Economic Power Unsettles the Neighbors
China has long claimed to be just another developing nation, even as its economic power far outstripped that of any other emerging country. Now, it is finding it harder to cast itself as a friendly alternative to an imperious American superpower. For many in Asia, it is the new colossus. Read the complete article in the NYTimes here.
For Global Finance, Global Regulation
Europe led the way last year in facing down the global financial crisis, restructuring our banking system and strengthening the global financial system. The European Union was also at the forefront in calling for a new forum for economic cooperation of G-20 leaders. And from the outset of the crisis, it was Europe that promoted the fiscal stimulus—and sought to coordinate it globally—that has been a major factor in preventing recession becoming a world-wide depression. Read the complete opinion piece of Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy here.
A border tax to protect the global environment?
The costs and benefits of carbon tariffs have been extensively discussed in terms of competitiveness and carbon leakage. This column says global welfare should be the focus. EU tariffs against developing country exports would increase global welfare and the proceeds from the tariff could help poorer exporting countries reduce the carbon intensity of their economies.
Read the article from D. Gros on Vox.eu here.
Kick-starting the green innovation machine
Mitigating climate change while maintaining economic growth will require a wide portfolio of technologies. This column says too little has been done to turn on the “green innovation machine”. It says governments in developed economies should price carbon, subsidise research, and facilitate technology transfer to developing countries.
Read the article from P. Aghion on Vox eu here.
dinsdag 8 december 2009
The Skyscraper Index
Could it be that the building of record breaking Skyscrapers could be used as a tool to predict the onset of economic downturn? Read the complete article in ultranomics here.
maandag 7 december 2009
Long-term unemployment at historic height in the US
Read the complete CBPP Statement here.
The number of people who have been unemployed for 27 weeks or more continued to climb in November, and these long-term unemployed now are nearly 40 percent of total unemployment (see chart). Renewing the temporary assistance for unemployed workers scheduled to expire in less than a month and providing additional federal fiscal assistance to states remain at the top of the list of measures that policymakers should take to help jobless workers and speed the economic recovery. 
The number of people who have been unemployed for 27 weeks or more continued to climb in November, and these long-term unemployed now are nearly 40 percent of total unemployment (see chart). Renewing the temporary assistance for unemployed workers scheduled to expire in less than a month and providing additional federal fiscal assistance to states remain at the top of the list of measures that policymakers should take to help jobless workers and speed the economic recovery.
The complete WSJ environment report
HERE
Questions for Home Buyers
Here are 10 questions that prospective buyers or renters ought to ask to find out how green a house or apartment is
Courting Change
Environmental groups in China now have the ability to sue polluters. But will they?Keeping It
Frozen
In Alaska, a low-tech solution helps the ground stay cold enough, for now.
What Global Warming?
Look at the arguments the skeptics make—and how believers respond.#
What's New
The latest on alternative-energy deals from Dow Jones Clean Technology Insight
In Search of Net Zero
The National Renewal Energy Laboratory wants to be the greenest commercial building in the country. Here's how.
Who Wants What in Copenhagen
Each country coming to Copenhagen has its own agenda. Here's why an agreement is so difficult.
Reach For the Sky
Scientists in Delft believe that clouds hold the key to unlocking predictions about climate change.
Questions for Home Buyers
Here are 10 questions that prospective buyers or renters ought to ask to find out how green a house or apartment is
Courting Change
Environmental groups in China now have the ability to sue polluters. But will they?Keeping It
Frozen
In Alaska, a low-tech solution helps the ground stay cold enough, for now.
What Global Warming?
Look at the arguments the skeptics make—and how believers respond.#
What's New
The latest on alternative-energy deals from Dow Jones Clean Technology Insight
In Search of Net Zero
The National Renewal Energy Laboratory wants to be the greenest commercial building in the country. Here's how.
Who Wants What in Copenhagen
Each country coming to Copenhagen has its own agenda. Here's why an agreement is so difficult.
Reach For the Sky
Scientists in Delft believe that clouds hold the key to unlocking predictions about climate change.
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