At its best, economics poses a simple question: What makes people better off, and how can we have more of it? This year, the Nobel committee has rightly chosen to honor two academics, William Nordhaus and Paul Romer, who have demonstrated a rare dedication to finding answers — and to making the case for action. Economic growth can be a ...

The rejiggered North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) pulls the Mexican and US economies closer together, and raises the drawbridge to reduce trade with Asia. For Mexicans who already felt too dependent on the US, this is a grim combination. The reconfigured accord, announced last week, seems like another chapter in the global playbook of muscular regionalism. Globalisation is morphing ...

A couple of things happened last week in India that deserve a bit of attention — mostly because they reveal how deep the country’s structural problems go and how few good options the government has left. The first was the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) decision to hold interest rates steady even though the rupee had hit record lows against ...