In a fresh sign of confidence about the euro zone’s recovery, the European Commission has just upgraded its growth forecasts for the bloc. This raises a question: Should governments now start tightening fiscal policy to put their public finances on a sounder footing? It depends. Many euro-zone countries have worryingly high levels of public debt, and the best time to …

Many remarkable things happened in this year’s French presidential election. Emmanuel Macron became the youngest president of France. The extremist party garnered highest-ever scores. And for the first time, none of France’s traditional parties were represented in the final vote. Despite these extraordinary developments, the 39-year-old president’s future in office is full of challenges. He has daunting tasks ahead. Macron …

When discussing countries that have undergone astonishing economic transformations — as, most notably, China has over the past few decades — observers usually credit success to industrialization. After all, that’s the visible consequence of rapid growth: Where sleepy fishing villages once lay, ports and factories and high-speed rail networks spring up. The people who lived in those villages are in …