In various parts of the world, politicians are waging war on the economic statistics that help people assess the performance of their leaders. Over the past few years, the Argentine government has reported inflation rates more than 12 percentage points below private-sector estimates, and has filed criminal charges against statisticians attempting to publish their own data. more

A recent editorial in the Providence Business News (“Tourism fiefdoms are relics to relinquish,” May 14, 2012) called for the consolidation of Rhode Island’s tourism efforts into one statewide agency. While the editorial’s hypothesis claims consolidation would save Rhode Island money, such a strategy would in fact cost the state potential tax revenue. more

Many U.S. states and cities have approved measures to help fix poorly funded public pensions. Now courts will decide if they are legal or not. more

We have all done something stupid – or imprudent, to use a kinder adjective. Bicycling without a helmet, driving after too much wine, swimming beyond the lifeguard’s vision, hiking off the mountain path. The list goes on. Part of being human is being rash. While computers always act rationally, we humans are innately unpredictable; indeed, sometimes we find joy in those irrational moments of stupidity. more

Just getting back from South Korea has made me realize how amazing it is that we live in a world sustained by global trade. The stark difference between North and South Korea prompts a lot of reflection about the benefits of global trade. America’s longest-serving Secretary of State, Cordell Hull, reportedly said, “If goods cannot cross borders, armies will.” But business faces its own struggles in its own trenches trying to make goods cross borders, whether these are company, state or international borders. Here is a list of 10 challenges businesses face today in trying to make trade work better. more

Last week, the Stockton, Calif., City Council approved a petition for bankruptcy, the largest of a city in U.S. history. Municipalities all over the country are in fiscal distress, but few are actually declaring bankruptcy. What went so badly wrong in Stockton, and what lessons can other cities learn? more

School is out and summer jobs are in. But are they? more

Officials in San Bernardino County, Calif., believe they have figured out a clever way to solve the county’s, and possibly the nation’s, housing problems. more

The Bank for International Settlements, which acts as a bank for the world’s central banks, should know fudged numbers when it sees them. What may come as a surprise is how openly it has been discussing the problem of bogus balance sheets at large financial companies. more

Over the past three decades, the global financial system has become more dynamic and interconnected, more concentrated and complicated than ever before. Financial engineering seems to know no limits to creating new instruments that link institutions in new ways. more