Today’s EU-Russia summit in Rome will certainly broach the subject of the arrest and imprisonment of Mikhail Khodorkovsky. President Putin will say that the law is taking its course, that he cannot interfere. EU leaders will not believe him, but will probably be too polite to say so. The arrest of Yukos’ chairman and the … Continue reading What the arrest of Mikhail Khodorkovsky says to the world
Author: Robert Skidelsky
Economist and member of the House of Lords
Inside the Bubble
The Roaring Nineties: seeds of destruction Joseph Stiglitz, Allen Lane, 389pp, £18.99 This book is the story of the forces that drove the American economy to frenzy in the 1990s and collapse in 2000. It is much better than Professor Stiglitz's last offering, Globalization and Its Discontents (2002), which was largely a rant against the … Continue reading Inside the Bubble
Oiling Russia’s Finances
The global oil situation is particularly interesting at the moment. At around $30 a barrel, oil prices are remaining high even though a soft global economy means that world demand is low. The previously fashionable view that the American seizure of Iraqi oil resources would break OPEC and send the price of oil plummeting has … Continue reading Oiling Russia’s Finances
Mr Moody and Mr Berezovsky
In today’s global economy prudential barriers have largely replaced legislative barriers to the free movement of capital. Private agencies award countries credit ratings which are designed to inform often ignorant capitalists about the degree of risk attached to investing in a particular country. In fact, this practice dates from the 19th century, when the French … Continue reading Mr Moody and Mr Berezovsky
If Labour bans foxhunting, civil disobedience would be justified
There are dark mutterings in countryside circles of civil disobedience if the Bill in the House of Lords to ban hunting with dogs, going through the committee stage later this month, becomes law. On the face of it, this seems absurd. Foxhunting is not a great cause like those that occasioned past campaigns of civil … Continue reading If Labour bans foxhunting, civil disobedience would be justified
Russia Must Support the UN
Post-Communist Russia has repeatedly said that it bases its foreign policy on respect for the UN Charter. This is understandable. For the Soviet Union, the ability to veto Security Council resolutions was irrelevant, because it had real power to stop the United States doing things it disliked. Today, the veto gives Russia at least the … Continue reading Russia Must Support the UN
Standards are more important than size
What effect does government have on the growth of the economy? The orthodox view in Russia seems to be: overwhelmingly bad. Andre Illarionov, chief economic adviser to the president, says that to meet Putin’s target of doubling Russian GDP by 2010, government spending should be halved from 36 to 18% of GDP. It is difficult … Continue reading Standards are more important than size
The economic choices facing Russia
President Putin's target of doubling Russia's national income by 2010 requires that the economy grow by 7-8 per cent a year. Since the collapse of 1998, Russia’s economy has been growing at an average of 5-6 per cent a year. So it needs to grow faster, though not much faster, to meet Putin's target. But … Continue reading The economic choices facing Russia
Russia’s oil stabilization fund is good news
The global oil situation is particularly interesting at the moment. At $30 a barrel of crude, the oil price stays high even though world demand is low. The previously fashionable view that the American seizure of Iraqi oil resources would break OPEC and send the price of oil plummeting has turned out to be nonsense. … Continue reading Russia’s oil stabilization fund is good news
Security before Prosperity
Amidst all the Iraq-dominated news and comment, one question little asked is: what effect will the warlike turn in international relations have on globalisation? Till quite recently, it was widely assumed that increasing economic integration was inevitable. Technology and economics, it was said, were welding the world into a single unit. The challenge was to … Continue reading Security before Prosperity
Robert Skidelsky 