by Manuel Alvarez-Rivera, Puerto Rico The Czech Republic will be holding an early general election later this year – nearly a year ahead of schedule – after the center-right coalition government of Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek was brought down last week in a parliamentary no-confidence vote. Topolánek, who submitted his resignation last Thursday but remains as caretaker head of government and leader of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) – the largest party in the Central European country’s bicameral legislature – subsequently reached an agreement with former Prime Minister Jiří Paroubek, the leader of the Czech Social Democratic Party (ČSSD) – the main opposition force – to hold an early poll next October; a specific date remains to be determined

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Topolánek’s toppling leads to early Czech election

By Claus Vistesen: Copenhagen Last time I had Japan under the loop I asked whether there was no end in sight for Japan’s economy and as I wind up for another close look, I must say that it is still very difficult to find good news if any at all. However, and for the sake of argument I thought that we might begin with some recent arguments in the context of the global economy which suggest that we may be past the worst of our travails.

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Japan – Engine Failure

by Edward Hugh: Barcelona There is no doubt about it: Italy’s economic situation has worsened considerably during the current quarter. Only last week the OECD forecast that Italy’s gross domestic product is likely to fall by 4.2 percent in 2009. This follows hot on the heals of an earlier statement where the OECD said the situation in Italy this year and next was “much worse” than it had previously thought, and that Italy would not come out of its recession until “sometime” in 2010 at the earliest.

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Italy’s Economic Contraction Accelerates

Brink Lindsey, of the Cato Institute and author of The Age of Abundance: How Prosperity Transformed America’s Politics and Culture, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the interaction between culture and politics and prosperity. Lindsey outlines the nature of prosperity in America in the 20th century, then focuses on the last half of the century when cultural change was perhaps as dramatic as economic change

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Brink Lindsey on the Age of Abundance

by Edward Hugh: Barcelona Now here’s an interesting story. Slovakia has just joined the eurozone, a status most of the rest of the EU’s East European members would badly like to attain. But just to remind us that joining the zone, while offering considerable support and protection in times of trouble, is no panacea, Moody’s Investors Service have last Friday cut their outlook on Slovakia’s government bonds rating (to stable from positive, implying their is no likelihood of an upgrade in the near future, a possibility which was implicit in the earlier positive outlook)

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Moody’s Cuts Slovakia’s Outlook

by Edward Hugh: Barcelona With capital inflows to the CEE economies slowing to a trickle in Eastern Europe, a sharp correction is now underway in most countries’ external imbalances and in particular in their current-account deficits. For the CEE-6 (Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey), net private capital flows are forecast to slow to $59.5 billion in 2009, down from an estimated $161.9 billion in 2008, according to estimates from the Institute For International Finance.

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Do They Have Parachutes In Bulgaria?

Nassim Taleb talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the financial crisis, how we misunderstand rare events, the fragility of the banking system, the moral hazard of government bailouts, the unprecedented nature of really, really bad events, the contribution of human psychology to misinterpreting probability and the dangers of hubris.

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Taleb on the Financial Crisis

Barack Obama has defended his economic policies amid growing criticism of the financial rescue plans proposed by his administration.

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US president battles criticism and recession – 23 Mar 09

by Manuel Alvarez-Rivera, Puerto Rico Voters in Slovakia went to the polls today for a presidential election, but the outcome will almost certainly be decided in a runoff vote next April 4. Normally, a second round between the candidates arriving in first and second place would be held if no candidate won an absolute majority of valid votes in the first round of voting, but last February the Slovak Central Election Commission (UVK) ruled that an absolute majority of all eligible voters was required in order to secure a first round victory. Election results links are now available at the bottom of this posting, under Update

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Slovakia’s 2009 presidential election

by Edward Hugh: Barcelona “Most other countries in the region are faring much better, though….Like Slovenia, which joined two years ago, Slovakia can enjoy the full protection of rich Europe’s currency union, rather than just the indirect benefit of being due to join it some day.” The Economist “Saying that the situation is the same for all central and eastern European states, I don’t see that……you cannot compare the dire situation in Hungary with that of other countries.” Angela Merkel “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way” Tolstoy With Slovakia going to the polls today to elect a new president, I thought this might be a good moment to examine how the two East European economies which have recently enetered the eurozone are getting on in the current crisis.

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Slovenia’s Economy Falls Off The Roof, While Slovakia Slides Into Recession

By Rick Mattoon Throughout the nation, state governments have been crying uncle as revenues have hit a tailspin and expenses for Medicaid and public welfare have accelerated. Estimates of the cumulative deficit facing state governments exceed $100 billion, and the National Association of State Budget Officers is calling this the worst fiscal situation facing the states since World War II.

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State Government Fiscal Performance in the Seventh Federal Reserve District: How bad is it? How bad will it be?

Dan Klein, of George Mason University, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts on truth in economics, bias, and groupthink in academic life. Along the way they discuss the Food and Drug Administration (and the drug approval process), the culture of academic life and the roles of empirical evidence and prediction markets in adjudicating academic disagreement. The conversation closes with a discussion of Econ Journal Watch–the watchdog journal Klein founded and edits–and an invitation to listeners to join a discussion of The Theory of Moral Sentiments by Adam Smith.

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Klein on Truth, Bias, and Disagreement

Photo credit: Balaji Shankar Universal appeal is a tricky thing. India’s central governments, up until the late 1970s, had one thing they shared (besides of course, the fact that they were all Congress Party governments): they viewed themselves as a father and mother figure rolled into one, the mai-baap , and also as an authority that didn’t discriminate or favour any one group of citizens over another.  Since the 1980s, as regional parties have gained power, governments have become far more focused on their particular ethnic identities and groups, and this has sometimes come with open hostility to groups that they don’t represent

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The changing guard

by Edward Hugh: Barcelona Well sometimes it never rains but it pours, and as far as Germany is concerned, economically speaking (and my condolences to each and every German for yesterday’s tragedy) more than a “rainy season” what we seem to have is a monsoon, with a torrential downpour one day after the next. The lastest piece of bad news comes on the export front, with German exports dropping for a fourth consecutive month in January, as what is still Europe’s largest economy fell ever deeper into what is now its worst recession in 60 years.

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Germany’s Recession Worsens Again

Ireland must be showing its signs of strength and weakness, of course one more than the other. Investors are now banking and in fact hoping, that Ireland defaults on its debts and that their investments pan out! JP Morgan backs Ireland One of the biggest Wall Street banks has warned investors not to bet on Ireland defaulting on its debt, as its financial position remains “remarkably strong” despite the banking crisis and economic downturn. JP Morgan bond analysts pointed out in a note to clients this week, that many other eurozone countries “have significantly worse public sector debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ratios”

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JP Morgan backs Ireland

by Edward Hugh: Barcelona The macroeconomic data coming out of Estonia in recent weeks are truly shocking, even in the context of the ten percent annual drop in GDP for 2009 that most observers are now forecasting. Perhaps the most evocative number of all is not the 27% year on year drop in industrial output registered in January, but the announcement this week that Estonia’s registered unemployment rate rose to a record 7.4 percent during the first week in March, with a total of 47,774 job-seekers registering with the unemployment offices, up 3,019 in a week.

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Why You Need Devaluation – An Open Letter To The People Of Estonia

Todd Zywicki, of George Mason University Law School, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the evolving world of consumer debt and how institutions and public policy have influenced consumer access to debt and credit. Zywicki defends consumer credit as a crucial benefit to consumers and that innovation has made credit cheaper and more effective. He also talks about how misleading it can be to look at only one piece or another of credit picture

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Zywicki on Debt and Bankruptcy