Economics pundits like me spend a good deal of time worrying about productivity. When discussing the issue, we often begin by noting that in the long run, productivity increases are the only way that living standards can improve. We recount the history of technological breakthroughs like the internal-combustion engine and the invention of electricity that supercharged productivity. And we wring …

An Israeli Cabinet minister is proposing that they all share a railway link that could cut overland travel distances between the Mediterranean and key Arab destinations by a half or two-thirds. The Regional Landbridge & Hub Initiative has been developed by Yisrael Katz, Israel’s minister of transportation and intelligence and a potential rival to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for leadership …

The mini-deal on U.S. trade with China announced by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross last week deserves a cautious welcome. It’s narrow in scope, and the reasoning behind it, as related by Ross, is questionable at best, but it gets the main thing right: It expands rather than contracts the opportunities for mutually beneficial commerce. One can only hope that the …