19 December 2023
The Economic Distortions of the Federal Constitutional Court’s Debt Brake Decision
Germany is not facing a debt crisis, but rather a serious budget crisis triggered by the ‘debt brake’ ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC). This crisis is deeper than the 60 billion in unused "Corona debts" being shifted to a climate fund, as reported in the media. More fundamentally, the court has mandated that the federal budget strictly adhere to the "principle of annuality" (Jährlichkeit). This is the most significant impact of the court's ruling, and from an economic perspective, it is quite perplexing. Continue reading >>
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16 May 2023
Lithium and Constitutional Change
On 20 April 2023, Chile’s President Gabriel Boric addressed the nation to announce the highly anticipated National Lithium Strategy. Boric announced the creation of a National Lithium Company (which must be enacted by Congress) and the establishment of public-private joint ventures, with a prominent role for the government. His speech began by referencing the nationalization of copper in the late 1960s and its completion in 1971 under President Salvador Allende. The new lithium strategy has to be understood as something more than merely an economic proposal. It is part of a larger and elusive effort to reconfigure the State. Continue reading >>
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25 November 2021