The Russian economy is once again relying on consumers, who are borrowing more to buy real estate and imported products. The growth is real, but it’s also meager. And it will be hard to sustain without bigger changes. On November 13, Rosstat, Russia’s official statistics agency, announced that the country’s gross domestic product increased 1.8 percent year-over-year in the quarter ...

As mankind puts the world’s largest living structure at risk, economists have come up with a new solution: put a price tag on it. Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is bigger than Japan, visible from space and one of the most complex ecosystems on earth. But it’s also under siege from climate change, agricultural runoff, coastal development and illegal fishing. Debate ...

A London tribunal’s ruling last week that Uber drivers aren’t self-employed was hailed as a victory by the company’s critics. The court upheld an earlier finding that Uber resorted to “fictions” and “twisted language” in denying its obligations as an employer, and that its claim to be a service linking 30,000 small businesses to their customers was “faintly ridiculous.” Clear ...