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Simon Johnson

Simon Johnson

Writing for PS since 2007
182 commentaries

Simon Johnson, a 2024 Nobel laureate in economics and a former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, is a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, Faculty Director of MIT’s Shaping the Future of Work initiative, and Co-Chair of the CFA Institute Systemic Risk Council. He is a co-author (with Daron Acemoglu) of Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity (PublicAffairs, 2023). 

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  1. The World According to the Oligarchs
    johnson183 Getty Images

    The World According to the Oligarchs

    Mar 11, 2025 Simon Johnson explains how techno-monopolists’ consolidation of political power in the United States will play out.

  2. Greenland’s Future Must Be Decided by Greenland’s People
    johnson184_Picture AllianceGettyImages_greenland_flag Picture Alliance/Getty Images

    Greenland’s Future Must Be Decided by Greenland’s People

    Mar 3, 2025 Simon Johnson dismisses the argument that US national security depends on gaining control over the island.

  3. The Economic Consequences of Trump 2.0
    johnson182_MANDEL NGANAFP via Getty Images_trump Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

    The Economic Consequences of Trump 2.0

    Jan 3, 2025 Simon Johnson explains why reality is unlikely to come close to matching the US president-elect's rhetoric.

  4. Trump Can Win Against China – in Ukraine
    johnson181_Alexander ManzyukAnadolu Agency via Getty Images_russian oil Alexander Manzyuk/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

    Trump Can Win Against China – in Ukraine

    Nov 25, 2024 Simon Johnson & Oleg Ustenko argue that forcing Russia to withdraw would yield a clearer win for the US than tariffs on Chinese imports.

  5. Only Harris Will Deliver Shared Prosperity
    johnson180_JIM WATSONAFP via Getty Images_kamala harris JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images

    Only Harris Will Deliver Shared Prosperity

    Nov 1, 2024 Simon Johnson says that Donald Trump’s discredited protectionism would benefit the few at the expense of the many.

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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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