We are now at the start of the sixth great wave in economic disruption, driven by renewables, electomobilty and smart-city technologies.
A group of sharecroppers, evicted from their land in the Great Depression, stand beside a Missouri road in January 1939.
GHI/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
The U.S. suicide rate has been increasing for decades. According to a sociologist who studies suicide, depression is just one factor among many implicated social conditions.
The next two years look dangerous for the economy. You wouldn’t know it from UK party manifestos.
Argentina’s president-elect, Alberto Fernández (right), with his running mate, former president and first lady Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.
Reuters/Agustin Marcarian
Argentina has voted for change. Alberto Fernández, a 60-year-old lawyer, defeated President Mauricio Macri with a campaign emphasizing economic recovery, social inclusion and national unity.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro created a new cryptocurrency called the ‘Petro’ to combat hyperinflation.
Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
When an elected leader turns autocratic, the economy tends to suffer. That’s because, in a functioning democracy, economic policy is made jointly, with lawmakers playing a key role.
Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro after his swearing-in on Jan. 1, 2019, in the capital of Brasilia.
AP Photo/Andre Penner
Brazil’s new president – often called the ‘Trump of the tropics’ for his inflammatory, right-wing rhetoric – won over poorer voters by stoking fear and resentment. Can he make them happy?
Protesters carry a banner that reads in Spanish, ‘Property of the G20? Who chose?’
AP Photo/Sebastian Pani
Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration is struggling to overcome the national economic destruction wreaked on Zimbabwe over two decades under Robert Mugabe.
Argentina is just one of a handful of crisis-stricken nations asking the International Monetary Fund for help.
David Fernandez/EPA
Some US$4.6 trillion has been made available to stave off financial crises across the world. The problem is that much of this funding is now spoken for, and the list of stricken nations is growing.
South Africa will be well advised to start preparing itself for an International Monetary Fund programme as the country faces a deepening economic crisis.
Venezuela urgently needs financial assistance, but the regime of Nicolás Maduro has few international allies.
AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan
China, Russia and the International Monetary Fund are among those contemplating a Venezuela bailout. But help for this debt-stricken nation seems far from assured.
Mozambique’s military responded swiftly following deadly attacks by Islamist gunmen on three police stations recently.
Reuters/Juda Ngwenya
The first Islamist attack carried out by Mozambicans in the country is particularly surprising given the pride the country takes in its sound and relaxed inter-religious relations.
Two men sit at the roadside in the hope of being offered work. South Africa’s unemployment is moving towards 30%.
EPA/NIC BOTHMA