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Katharina Pistor

Katharina Pistor

Writing for PS since 2000
40 commentaries

Katharina Pistor, Professor of Comparative Law at Columbia Law School, is the author of The Code of Capital: How the Law Creates Wealth and Inequality (Princeton University Press, 2019).

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  1. The End of Germany’s Economic Delusions?
    pistor40_INA FASSBENDERAFP via Getty Images_merz Ina Fassbender/AFP via Getty Images

    The End of Germany’s Economic Delusions?

    Mar 13, 2025 Katharina Pistor welcomes the apparent departure from two policy taboos that have strangled the country's investment.

  2. The New Washington Consensus
    pistor39_Julia Demaree NikhinsonGettyImages_trump_inauguration_ceos Julia Demaree Nikhinson/Getty Images

    The New Washington Consensus

    Jan 28, 2025 Katharina Pistor sees no daylight remaining between US private business and the federal government.

  3. Capitalism Is Driving Democracy’s Death Spiral
    pistor38_Beata ZawrzelNurPhoto via Getty Images_capitalismprotest Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images
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    Capitalism Is Driving Democracy’s Death Spiral

    Nov 15, 2024 Katharina Pistor argues that the financialization of the global economy has come at the expense self-governance.

  4. Outsourcing Our Future to For-Profit AI
    pistor37_Dan KitwoodGetty Images_deepmind Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

    Outsourcing Our Future to For-Profit AI

    Oct 17, 2024 Katharina Pistor worries that we have already ceded control to self-interested private corporations and their shareholders.

  5. To Google or Not to Google?
    pistor36_Thilina KaluthotageNurPhoto via Getty Images_google Thilina Kaluthotage/NurPhoto via Getty Images

    To Google or Not to Google?

    Aug 22, 2024 Katharina Pistor describes how the search-engine giant crossed the line in acquiring and maintaining its monopoly.

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  1. brown118_Wakil KohsarGettyImages_afghan_girls_school Wakil Kohsar/Getty Images
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    The Internal Challenge to Afghanistan’s Ban on Girls’ Secondary Education

    Gordon Brown explains why the country’s leadership crisis represents an opportunity to end gender apartheid.
  2. jmccarthy1_CRISTINA ALDEHUELAAFP via Getty Images_cocoaghana Cristina Aldehuela/AFP via Getty Images
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    Central Banks Must Stem the Nature Crisis

    Julie McCarthy urges monetary authorities to use their tools to mitigate the financial risks of environmental disruption.
  3. dudley1_Justin TallisGettyImages_tether Justin Tallis/Getty Images
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    The US Needs Stablecoin Legislation Now

    Bill Dudley

    Without a robust regulatory framework that incentivizes stablecoin issuers to register in the United States, stablecoin activity will migrate to countries with weaker rules, increasing the likelihood of financial instability. Fortunately, the US can still head off these risks and reap the technology’s benefits.

     explains why lawmakers need to move quickly to establish US leadership in digital assets and payments.
  4. krueger85_Justin SullivanGetty Images_UScarstrade Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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    Tariff Man Doubles Down

    Anne O. Krueger warns that the Trump administration’s trade restrictions will harm the very industries they aim to protect.
  5. lachman3_Charly TriballeauGettyImages_us_economy_eggs Charly Triballeau/Getty Images
    3

    America Looks Like a Troubled Emerging-Market Economy

    Desmond Lachman

    Under US President Donald Trump’s erratic rule, the United States is now exhibiting all the symptoms, from high import tariffs and fiscal deficits, to oligarchy and flagrant corruption. Worse, the fallout cannot be confined to the US, and no multilateral bailout or structural adjustment plan can mitigate the damage.

     lists the symptoms, from tariffs and massive public debt, to oligarchy and flagrant conflicts of interest.
  6. fofack29_eric1513Getty Images_dedollarization eric1513/Getty Images
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    Will Trump Destroy the Dollar’s Primacy?

    Within its first two months, President Donald Trump’s second administration has attacked US institutions, alienated trade partners and allies, decimated consumer and investor confidence, and sent the stock market plummeting. Can the dollar’s status as the world’s leading reserve currency – and the extraordinary advantages this affords the US economy – withstand the onslaught?

  7. moyo32_Anton PetrusGettyImages_ai_money Anton Petrus/Getty Images
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    Will AI Mean Higher Taxes?

    Dambisa Moyo warns business leaders that automation-driven efficiency gains may come with hidden long-term costs.
  8. gbrowne1_Thomas SamsonGettyImages_fossil_fuel_non_proliferation_treaty Thomas Samson/Getty Images
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    A Defining Moment for Energy Security and Economic Prosperity

    Gaston Browne points out that the energy transition is vital not only to protect the planet, but also to enhance resilience.
  9. norrlof10_Picture AllianceGettyImages_lng_terminal_baltic_sea Picture Alliance/Getty Images
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    How Much “Weaponization” Can the Global Economy Take?

    Carla Norrlöf worries that major powers’ understandable reliance on economic coercion will go too far.

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