President Donald Trump got elected on the strength of three words: Build the wall. He was more equivocal on Thursday, after cutting a loose deal with Democratic leaders to protect some undocumented immigrants: “We will build the wall later.” Trump’s deal-making has left Republicans unnerved, and some of his strongest backers worried that he’s backtracking on his most central campaign ...

If you only read the headlines—or, say, my columns—you might be pessimistic about China’s economy. Recent news has been dominated by a crackdown on capital outflows, worries about rapid debt growth, and efforts to rein in a risky overseas investment binge. Yet ordinary Chinese are highly optimistic: The China Consumer Confidence Index hit 114.6 in July, a level not seen ...

Byung-Yeon Kim, a professor at Seoul National University, began interviewing North Korean defectors seven years ago to learn more about their country’s economy. One wouldn’t have thought there was much to discover: Often described as “Stalinist,” the hermetic regime to the north seemed to preside over a crude, centrally planned system, with peasants toiling away for a pittance in collective ...