At first glance, both value-added tax (VAT) systems and blockchain-based stablecoins are models of transparency. But a closer look reveals a foundational conflict: one empowers the (extractive capacity of the) state, the other could empower (the extractive capacity of) private actors. This tension is, in my opinion, coming out across many ongoing tensions between the […]| Thiemo Fetzer
This is an attempt of an explainer article that captures what is going on globally around recent deal making activity to the best of my understanding. The di| www.trfetzer.com
I spent the past week in Bejing at a workshop co-hosted by the World Trade Organisation. I wanted to share the slides that I used here. They are rough, there is| www.trfetzer.com
The UK seemed to make good on its promise to take advantage of its Brexit freedoms. In a rapid succession, trade deals have been concluded with a range of partners. Most recently, the UK and U.S. announced their Economic Prosperity Deal (EPD). Observers, such as the economist Olivier Blanchard dismissed it as a “nothing burger” […]| Thiemo Fetzer
In the past I have made some comments on the roll or the potential role of crypto going forward. Full disclosure, I do not hold crypto, I have experimented a bi| Thiemo Fetzer
In an era where Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly embedded in our daily lives, the notion of knowledge production and transmission has become a subject of concern. At the beginning of the year I highlighted a key fundamental challenge around skills transmission (and its potential breakdown, if we remain in the logic of considering humans […]| Thiemo Fetzer
I wanted to quickly share some reflections and connect some dots around ongoing work with Prashant on causal claims and language in Economics. We have extended| www.trfetzer.com
The Future of Work, Technology, and Regulation in a Fragmenting World This is a memo I drafted for an event at the British Academy convened by the Innovation, Equity and Prosperity program of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR). The event had scholars in attendance with easily, in excess of a quarter million citations […]| Thiemo Fetzer
I provided these lengthy comments on the weekends development in the US/China trade escalation, some were picked up by some media outlets. Here are the full length comments. The recent U.S.-China thaw, a 90-day tariff reduction from 145% to 30% for U.S. imports and 125% to 10% for Chinese imports, marks a tactical pause. While […]| Thiemo Fetzer
To understand the origins of Brexit, we need to examine the political drivers behind the origins and developments leading to Brexit, which are deeply intertwine| www.trfetzer.com
As I posted elsewhere (here and here) and before: Reducing the investibility of the US diminishes financial inflows domestically. Meanwhile, massive debt issuan| www.trfetzer.com
The work on causal claims in economics has taken off and there is quite a lot of interest in the methodology used across many different fields. I keep on saying| www.trfetzer.com
Below is the powerpoint of a keynote I gave (but interrupted after 1h due to feeling unwell) at the Shared Perspectives event at University of Bologna, October| www.trfetzer.com
