Japan s Political Tremors

Financial Gain, Economic Pain

These shocks were naturally beyond the ECB s control.

It is the shock, not the adjustments to it, that spreads throughout the system.

Consequently, external shocks quickly expose their vulnerability.

The shock rendered Tom speechless.

Globalization exposes a country to enormous shocks.

Third, financial shocks will be worse than expected. At some point, investors will realize that bank losses are massive, and that some banks are insolvent.

Third, more severe climate shocks may lie ahead.

Third, financial shocks will be worse than expected.

Sooner or later, she'll get over the shock.

Instead, emerging markets are suffering financial convulsions of possibly historic proportions.

Why should this historic event cause such political upheaval?

Elsewhere, of course, this sort of turmoil has democratic safety valves.

When Obama discussed the Arab political upheavals, he noted the importance of economic development.

When shocks to the system occur, agents do not know what will happen next.

Nor does time cushion anemic post crisis recoveries from the inevitable next shock.

Today, the revolutions rocking much of the Muslim world are bedeviled by Islam s military past.

Animal spirits are not always shattered by extraordinary economic events. But then, not all economic convulsions are alike.

European experience suggests that large scale systemic shocks call for greater financial support.

It also includes creating the regulatory and institutional framework that markets require to function well, providing necessary public goods and guaranteeing the fairness of rules.

External shocks brought about by climate change will directly affect advanced economies.

Big bangs in institutional reform, however, may generate more harm than good.

Witness the upheaval in North Africa and the Middle East.

Moreover, the convulsions in Iraq may well have incalculable repercussions throughout the Middle East.

Consider the regional and even global turmoil over Kosovo, South Sudan, Kurdistan, and Crimea.

Unless and until widespread family planning and modern contraceptive services are established, expanding populations in the Horn of Africa will crash against a harsher future climate.

Moreover, external shocks, policy mistakes, and political instability could disrupt even the best laid plans.

Unlike 1929, there were (and are) no obvious macroeconomic answers to financial distress.

Third, the region is already living in extreme poverty, so adverse shocks push it toward calamity.

It is this turmoil that has enabled ISIS to capture and defend territory in Syria, Iraq, and parts of North Africa.

The reforms introduced by Augustus during his long reign stabilized the empire after the turmoil of the previous century's civil wars.

The more meaningful message is how these shocks box the rest of us into an even tighter corner.

Despite this week s turmoil in Beirut, Lebanon has an advantage that Iraqis should emulate. The personal freedoms that Lebanese citizens enjoy give their country a special resilience, and its cultural dynamism is the envy of young people throughout the Middle East.

Paradoxically, despite recent hits to the Russian stock market, Russia remains awash with cash.

Egypt is entering a new era. But the radical policy upheavals predicted by analysts will prove to be small tremors. Saudi interests will continue to weigh heavily on Egyptian foreign policy.

Despite this week s turmoil in Beirut, Lebanon has an advantage that Iraqis should emulate.

The Arab Spring upheavals have given rise to grave new challenges to cultural and religious diversity in the Middle East.

NEW DELHI The fallout from the terror attacks in Mumbai last week has already shaken India.

Today s financial turmoil and economic downturn are highlighting the EMU s advantages in several important ways. First, the euro has eliminated the possibility of exchange rate turbulence and speculative currency attacks that more vulnerable economies could have expected in the current turmoil.

It is hard to see how this type of theory either explains today s economic turbulence, or offers sound instruction about how to deal with it.

However, barring any major economic bumps, the changes will have a positive impact, as capital allocation becomes more efficient.

Other countries in the region, including Yemen and some of the Gulf states, have experienced varying degrees of turmoil as well.

Today s financial turmoil and economic downturn are highlighting the EMU s advantages in several important ways.

Firms and consumers reacted to this year s shocks by temporarily slowing consumption, capital spending, and job creation.