Many people say that Korea’s lowest point in recent history was in November 1997 when the country, reeling from the financial crisis, had to apply for special loans from the International Monetary Fund. November 2016 has now reached a new low. The 1997 financial crisis is something that can be explained in a logical way: policy misjudgment, capital flow mismatch, and slow reform in the financial market. In contrast, the recent scandal surrounding President Park Geun-hye and Choi Soon-sil has no

As all of us watched the US presidential debates and await the outcome of the elections in early November with bated breath, I was struck by how much the world is moving on different planes. Trump and Hillary are trading insults with each other, giving democratic politics a bad name. In the meantime, Hong Kong Legislative Council members are literally swearing at each other over oath-taking, while Philippine President Duterte called President Obama a name not normally used in polite company.  At

No one likes to admit defeat. But global policymakers, who continue to insist that there’s more they can do to revive growth and inflation, are starting to sound like Monty Python’s Black Knight, the limbless and mortally wounded warrior who threatens to bleed on his victorious opponent. The truth is that governments and central banks have very few weapons left -- and have probably lost any chance they once had of averting a prolonged stagnation.　Clearly, the real economy hasn’t responded as hop

In the United States and elsewhere nowadays, populist politicians often claim that easy monetary policy is hurting ordinary workers, thereby exacerbating income inequality. But while inequality is a problem, raising interest rates is no way to address it.To say otherwise is a strange claim for anyone to make, especially populists. After all, low interest rates benefit debtors and hurt creditors, as does the inflation that can be spurred by monetary easing. Throughout most of US history, for exam

With most election forecasts pointing toward a victory for Hillary Clinton, her top advisers are beginning to think about how to stabilize a world that has been rocked by the US presidential campaign and by recent reversals for American power.The paradox for the Clinton team, if it wins, will be how to signal continuity with an Obama administration in which many were involved, but also a tightening of US policy so that America doesn’t appear on its “back foot” in dealing with Russia, China and o