Free exchange

Our economics column offers rigorous analysis, insights into global trends and policy debates

A person holding their phone in one hand and a coffee in the other with his suit pocket stuffed with share certificates

Finance & economics

The stockmarket is fuelling America’s economy

What happens in the event of a slump?

5 min read

A lumber jack cutting down a stack of coins =

Finance & economics

Don’t tax wealth

Even the most sophisticated arguments in favour of doing so make no sense

5 min read

A red carpet leading up to a door that's signed "Laboratory"

Finance & economics

The AI talent war is becoming fiercer

How other countries hope to challenge America

5 min read

A shipping container with an army helmet on top

Finance & economics

Would an all-out trade war be better?

Donald Trump has so far avoided retaliation, which might carry a cost of its own

5 min read

A brain being guided by an airport staff member

Finance & economics

Can you make it to the end of this column? 

Understanding the new economics of attention

5 min read

Illustration of a terminator style robot holding a shopping basket with groceries in it

Finance & economics

What if artificial intelligence is just a “normal” technology?

Its rise might yet follow the path of previous technological revolutions

5 min read

Illustration of a cowboy riding the Federal Reserve building like a bucking bull, one hand gripping a rope and the other raised in the air

Finance & economics

Trump’s interest-rate crusade will be self-defeating

New research shows the importance of central-bank credibility

5 min read

Central Bankers Attend Annual Jackson Hole Economic Symposium

Finance & economics

Trump’s interest-rate crusade will be self-defeating

The president’s threats loomed over this year’s Jackson Hole conference

5 min read

Finance & economics

Economists disagree about everything. Don’t they?

Their discipline is famous for its fissiparousness

5 min read

Three framed artworks show different sections of the same red line graph displayed like art in a gallery.

Finance & economics

What 630,000 paintings say about the world economy

Kandinsky, Monet and Rembrandt were economists as well as artists

5 min read

Illustration of a dollar sign in a dentist's chair

Finance & economics

An economist’s guide to big life decisions

Forget your trip to the dentist. A new check-up is required

5 min read

Illustration of a hand moving a green bishop on a graph, knocking over a red king along an upward-sloping curve

Finance & economics

What economics can teach foreign-policy types

Hegemons should care about even puny countries

5 min read