11 must-read economics stories of the week

Welcome to your weekly update – a curated list of some of this week’s most interesting stories on economic growth and social inclusion. 

1. Is Latin America converging with developed economies? For more on emerging, floating and submerging economies, read this article (Financial Times).

2. Greece remains in the headlines. Think tank Bruegel explains how Greece’s debt burden could be lowered while keeping the country in the euro area (Bruegel). 

3. Will innovation increasingly come from poorer, more remote areas? What will this mean for social inclusion? (NBER)

4. China’s e-commerce entrepreneurs. The number of rural communities where at least 10% of the population makes its living by selling products online is rising sharply, making the industry more inclusive (Quartz).

5. Can technology fight inequality? A few case studies suggest it might (Wired).

6. Or is it a driver of inequality? Michael Baxter and John Straw argue that technology widens the divide, mainly due to the concentration of patents and advertising revenues among a few ubiquitous tech companies (The Guardian). 

7. Productivity varies among companies, with a few firms blazing ahead. This has implications for global growth and inequality. What’s going on? (BloombergView) For a long-term forecast of productivity and economic growth based on science developments, take a look here.) 

8. Escaping extreme poverty. There are three steps that repeatedly prove to help the very poor “graduate from destitution”. They involve assets, cash transfers and training. How efficient and effective are they? (The Economist)

9. How can companies tackle rising income inequality and economic growth? Laura Tyson has an answer that could boost both productivity and profitability (Project Syndicate). 

10. What do climate change and rising income inequality in the United States have in common? As irreversible as the former appears, the latter may be too. If mitigation of increasing wage disparity in America is failing to reverse the trend, perhaps adaptation strategies are worth considering too (The Economist). 

11. Did you know? Over the past 15 years, Asia has imported less from the United States and Japan, and more from China. Consider the figures here (The Wall Street Journal).

Have you read?
Last week’s must-read economics stories
A brief history of China’s economic growth
Why Germany won’t bend Eurozone rules

Author: Jennifer Blanke is Chief Economist at the World Economic Forum.

Image: Steelworkers work on the roof structure inside the Arena Amazonia stadium, in preparation for the 2014 FIFA World Cup soccer championship in Manaus. December 10, 2013. REUTERS/Gary Hershorn