How central banks weigh the risk of inflation against the risk of slowing growth
Interest-rate decisions are a judgement about which mistake would be more costly. Here is how policymakers frame that choice.
Analysis
Explainers and long-form analysis of the forces behind the news.
When countries cannot pay: how sovereign debt restructurings work
There is no bankruptcy court for nations. Debt crises are instead resolved through slow, often painful negotiations shaped by contract terms, creditor diversity and the threat of lost market access.
The quiet mechanics of multilateral diplomacy, and why agreements take so long
Most of the work behind international agreements happens far from the cameras, in drafting rooms where single words can take days to settle.
How economic sanctions are designed, and why they so often leak
Sanctions are meant to impose costs without firing a shot. Their effect depends less on the headline measures than on the plumbing of trade and finance beneath them.
What AI regulation is really trying to control
How broadcast rights became the most valuable asset in professional sport
Reading the bond market: what the yield curve does and does not tell investors
Latest in Analysis
Explainer
How zoning rules quietly decide how many homes a city can build
Land-use regulation rarely makes headlines, yet it sets the ceiling on housing supply. Understanding it explains why some cities grow up, some grow out and some barely grow at all.
Explainer
Why advanced chipmaking is so hard to copy
Building a modern semiconductor plant requires far more than money. It depends on accumulated know-how, specialised suppliers and a production process that tolerates almost no error.
Explainer
Why reproducibility has become one of science's central concerns
A finding that cannot be repeated is a weak foundation. Researchers are changing how they design, share and review studies to make results sturdier.
Explainer
How compounding works for savers and against borrowers, often in the same household
Interest that earns interest is the most powerful force in personal finance. It rewards patience on one side of the balance sheet and punishes delay on the other.
Analysis
Inside the legislative calendar: why timing decides which bills survive
Legislatures have finite time. Party leaders who control the schedule wield influence that rarely makes headlines.
Explainer
How the choice of electoral system shapes a country's party politics
The rules for turning votes into seats are among the most consequential decisions a democracy makes. They influence how many parties thrive, how governments form and how voters behave.
Analysis
How companies are redrawing their supply chains
Efficiency once trumped everything. Now businesses are paying for resilience — and discovering how hard it is to buy.
Explainer
How health systems decide which treatments to pay for when budgets are finite
Every health budget involves rationing, whether openly or not. Formal assessment methods try to make those choices consistent, transparent and defensible.
Explainer
How to read a national budget without getting lost
Government budgets run to hundreds of pages. A few questions cut through to what actually matters.
Analysis
Why productivity growth, the root of rising living standards, is so hard to measure
Over the long run, almost nothing matters more for prosperity than producing more from the same effort. Yet statisticians struggle to capture what is actually being produced.
Analysis
Why house prices are so sensitive to interest rates, and why the effect is uneven
For most buyers, the price of a home is really the price of a loan. That link explains why property markets react sharply when borrowing costs change.
Analysis
What makes a currency strong — and why a strong currency is not always good news
Exchange rates reflect interest rates, trade and confidence. A rising currency helps some parts of an economy and hurts others.
