For countries where nominal interest rates are at or near zero, fiscal stimulus should be a no-brainer. As long as the interest rate at which a government borrows is less than the sum of inflation, labor-force growth, and labor-productivity growth, the amortization cost of extra liabilities will be negative. Meanwhile, the upside of extra spending could be significant. The Keynesian fiscal multiplier for large industrial economies or for coordinated expansions is believed to be roughly two -- me

Talk of forming a coalition government has become a topic in politics since the April 13 general election, which relegated the ruling party to the second-largest party and which did not give any party a majority control of the parliament. The proposal for a coalition government comes mostly from members of the People’s Party, a splinter opposition group that emerged as the third-largest party by winning 38 parliamentary seats. The proposal is apparently aimed at increasing political clout of the

The founding families of Korea’s chaebol have both positive and negative public images. In hard times, the negative image tends to overwhelm the positive one. Chaebol families are often identified as the main culprit when their businesses go bad to the point of bankruptcy or government-aided bailouts. To make matters worse, they often try to avoid responsibility – both legal and moral – and are caught trying to protect their own personal wealth. So they become the target of public criticism, whi

For years now, China’s been lavishly courting friends across the developing world. Chinese leaders, in pointed contrast to their Western counterparts, traverse the globe with bursting wallets, doling out aid, cheap loans and infrastructure deals in an effort to procure both influence and raw materials. Commodity-dependent countries get cheap financing for development, despite their often dodgy credit ratings; China gains diplomatic clout and a bargain on those commodities. Both sides win — that

Two of Indonesia’s top export products face unprecedented regulation in international export markets. In both cases, the measures are intended to curb consumption of consumer goods in order to address public health or environmental concerns. 　The commonalities don’t end there. In both cases, the measures violate international trade rules and are based on one-sided assumptions and unscientific predictions.　One of these products is palm oil, which may face a discriminatory tax environment in Franc

Facebook has dramatically upped the technology ante with a feature enabling users to become live broadcasters, even receiving and responding to feedback in real time.　Despite being a communications marvel, Facebook Live also poses all sorts of problems. The impact is sure to be significant, but to what extent the impact is negative remains to be seen.　Mark Zuckerberg, the social network’s founder, knows he’s on to something big, and it’s probable that Facebook’s rivals will seek to emulate the f

Most foreign visitors stepping into Junction Square in Myanmar‘s biggest city Yangon are in for a shock.　The medium-sized mall is packed with imported items and boasts an ice cream parlor as well as air conditioning and a gleaming tiled floor. It looks much like any big community mall in Bangkok.　Compare that with a mall in Shenzhen, China. The one I visited about five years ago shocked me with goods placed haphazardly in a poorly ventilated dusty interior.　Given that Myanmar only opened its doo

If in the early hours of a Saturday morning there’s a traffic jam in your neighborhood, it won’t be because it’s the opening day of the county fair. These days, it’s more likely to be Donald Trump. In Waterbury, Connecticut, this weekend, three days before the state primary, people began lining up at 4 a.m.; the doors opened at 7 for a rally scheduled for 10. The adults being led to the overflow room were as disappointed as the children finding out that that they’d been awoken early for politics

If I had to give one piece of advice to President Park Geun-hye to help her out in the postelection confusion, I would ask the head of state to move her Blue House office down to the staff building and work there until the end of her tenure. She could use the grandiose main building for receptions with foreign guests and distinguished individuals such as Tuesday’s luncheon with more than 40 media representatives. Yet, the president should also be advised to reduce her “dialogue sessions” with la

This month’s earthquakes in Japan’s Kumamoto prefecture were literally shattering.Lives have been taken, homes torn up and livelihoods forfeited. Nature, seemingly at man’s mercy at times, has proven once again that ultimately, she calls the shots.  I have not yet been able to visit the quake-stricken areas, but I felt the second quake, albeit just for a few seconds. Later, when I saw that the quakes and aftershocks had occurred all the way down in Kumamoto — which is more than a 1,000 kilometer

One hundred days remain before the 31st Summer Olympic Games kick off for a 17-day competition in Rio de Janeiro.A noteworthy event for local spectators is whether the country’s soccer team will advance to the semifinals, as they did four years ago in London, taking bronze. Fans are pinning their hopes on forward Son Heung-min, who plays in the English Premier League.Another is whether LPGA star Park In-bee or one of the other Korean female players will capture gold in golf, which has been desig

According to the National Pension Research Institute, South Korea is projected to see the number of seniors aged 65 or older take up about 45 percent of the population by 2060. This means the proportion of the population who are of working age -- between 15 and 64 -- will decrease sharply over the next few decades.As the drop in the working-age share of the population is set to start next year, concerns are mounting over the low birthrate. The International Monetary Fund forecast last year that

The many campaigns that have been waged over the past decade to get American children to avoid unhealthy foods have not been fruitless. The national childhood obesity rate has stopped rising. Yet neither is it falling. What kids need is not just a better diet, but also a better media diet.　The U.S. childhood obesity rate stands firm at 17 percent. And many overweight children and adolescents in the U.S. are growing even heavier. The number who are severely obese -- with a body mass index of 35 o

China’s adventurism in the South China Sea has prompted a change in Australian policymaking that merits wide international attention. In making maintenance of a “rules-based global order” a core strategic priority, Australia’s new Defense White Paper adopts language not often found at the heart of national defense charters. It is all the more surprising coming from a conservative government that is usually keen to follow the United States down any path it takes.Australia wanted a readily defensi

The military commander of the breakaway Armenian republic of Karabakh predicted in an interview Monday that a fragile cease-fire could collapse within days. By that night, Azerbaijani shelling had killed two Armenian soldiers in a northern border town, amid accusations by each side that the other had violated the truce. The “frozen conflict” here, stalemated for 22 years, exploded on April 2, when Azeroi forces attacked across the 200-kilometer front line. The Azeri seized ground for the first t

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are the two most disliked candidates ever to run for president of the United States.　I don‘t mean perhaps. I mean really. And if they win their party nominations, it will only get worse.　She’s widely considered to be a liar, and a bad one. He‘s considered to be vulgar and crude. She’s the American political establishment‘s Madame Iron Pantsuits pretending to be a progressive, with that Wall Street cash and packs of hot sauce in her purse if she’s on black radio a

Here are three things to know about the nonaggression pact between Ted Cruz and John Kasich, who have now vowed to work together to defeat Donald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination. Kasich will cede the opposition to Trump in Indiana to Cruz, while Cruz will give Kasich a chance to win in New Mexico and Oregon.　-- Even though this deal is unlikely to change the eventual allocation of delegates by much, a small swing could have a huge effect. As noted by NBC’s Mark Murray, at least

The protagonist of Han Kang’s “The Vegetarian” is a frustrated woman who abstains from meat but finds herself surrounded by violent, carnivorous people. As a little girl, she was bitten by her family dog. Right after the incident, her father tied the dog to his motorcycle and dragged it around the village at full speed until it died. Then he forced his daughter to eat the dog meat, superstitiously believing it would help her wound heal faster. Haunted by the nightmarish childhood trauma, the pro

Former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert will face the music on Wednesday. Can U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin name that tune in zero-to-six months?　That’s the sentencing range a probation officer recommended after Hastert pleaded guilty to one count of illegally structuring bank withdrawals. Durkin could reject that finding, though, and impose a sentence of up to five years in prison. He has plenty of reasons to do so.　Federal prosecutors say Hastert withdrew $952,000 -- $9,000 at a time,

Visiting Japan from Korea is always interesting because the countries share enough similarities to make for meaningful comparison. This time I’m spending most of my time in Kyoto with short side trips to Osaka and Nara. After a few busy days of sightseeing, various thoughts come to mind.One of the strongest impressions is that housing in Korea is better than in Japan. Using Airbnb rooms as a guide is not scientific, but it does offer insight into how average people might live. In Seoul, I stayed