European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and UK Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Boris Johnson traded barbs over how far the EU intends to push its integration agenda. In a speech Wednesday, the UK foreign secretary accused the EU of seeking to create an “overarching European state.” Not true, Juncker responded: “I am strictly against a European superstate. We are not the United States of America.”　This exchange of views looks baffling to an economist. The question is not what lev

Viewpoints Feb. 20, 2018

The European Union has had a democratic legitimacy problem for years: Its governing bodies -- with the exception of those that consist of national leaders and ministers -- are neither particularly responsive nor accountable to ordinary European voters. And, as the latest failed attempt to reform them has shown, they like it this way, for all the rhetoric about the need to overcome the democratic deficit.Voters have influence on the EU via two channels. One is electing national leaders, who, thro

Viewpoints Feb. 20, 2018

In recent years, concern about a resurgent Russia has dominated the Western security establishment’s conversations. Judging by this year’s edition of the Munich Security Report, which traditionally sets the agenda for the high-profile conference held in the Bavarian city -- it’s starting on Friday -- the focus is gradually beginning to shift to China. Big and important as these authoritarian countries are, though, I can’t help thinking the West should pay a bit more attention to internal threats

Viewpoints Feb. 19, 2018

For years, economists and policymakers have hailed the propensity of Chinese to save. Among other things, they’ve pointed to low household debt as reason not to fear a financial crash in the world’s second-biggest economy. Now, though, one of China’s greatest economic strengths is becoming a crucial weakness.　Over the past two weeks, as they’ve held their annual work meetings, China’s various financial regulatory bodies have raised fears that Chinese households may be overleveraged. Banking regu

Viewpoints Feb. 19, 2018

One could be forgiven for thinking the symbolism at the Olympics signaled a hard line from the Donald Trump administration on North Korea.　Before the opening ceremony, US Vice President Mike Pence met with North Korean dissidents. At the opening ceremonies, he sat with the parents of Otto Warmbier, the American student who was imprisoned and injured so gravely during his detention that he died shortly after being flown back to the US. In Tokyo, Pence announced that new sanctions would be unveile

Viewpoints Feb. 18, 2018

It might seem puzzling that Asia is getting three Olympics in a row. South Korea has the 2018 Winter Games, Japan has the 2020 Summer Games and China has the 2022 Winter Games. Shouldn’t the International Olympic Committee spread the wealth a bit more?　It’s not that simple, because the selection of Olympics host cities is a complicated interplay between the political and economic environments of the world when it plays out. This run of Olympics is happening in Asia largely because of the financi

Viewpoints Feb. 14, 2018

China’s biggest tech companies are emblems of national pride. When the government decides upon a priority, Tencent, Alibaba Group and Baidu are often asked to help devise the technology to achieve it. The companies are generally spared from official criticism, let alone interference with their commercial operations.　Those privileges aren’t absolute, however, as Tencent -- the company behind the WeChat messaging app -- recently learned. Late last month, China’s central bank shut down Tencent’s fl

Viewpoints Feb. 13, 2018

It wasn’t long ago that Matteo Renzi was the King Midas of Italian politics. At just 39, he rose from being mayor of Florence to becoming Italy’s youngest-ever prime minister. Such was his popularity that in the 2014 elections for the European Parliament, he secured the largest vote share ever gained by a left-of-center party in Italy. Many international leaders fell for his mixture of charisma and bravado: Barack Obama chose him as guest of honor for his final state dinner at the White House, s

Viewpoints Feb. 12, 2018

The next governor of the People’s Bank of China has a broader, more conceptual inbox than is typical of incoming central bankers.　Zhou Xiaochuan has held the post since 2002 and has hinted that retirement is coming. Zhou helped transform the bank from a fairly obscure bureaucratic outpost in the economic world to a place with a growing international profile that’s increasingly transparent -- compared with when he arrived -- even if it still has a great deal of work to do. 　The next leader will h

Viewpoints Feb. 12, 2018

On Monday afternoon, the Wall Street Journal broke the news that Steve Wynn, the chairman and chief executive of Wynn Resorts, had hidden a $7.5 million payment to “a woman who accused the casino mogul of forcing her to have sex.” It was the latest in a 10-day string of revelations about Wynn’s sexual behavior, going back decades, that has left him bruised in the press yet still in control of his empire.　About an hour and a half later, Lululemon Athletica announced that Chief Executive Laurent P

Viewpoints Feb. 11, 2018