2021-12-11-Economist Graphs
1. The world this week
1.1 Politics
1.2 Business
1.3 KAL’s cartoon
2. Leaders
2.1 What would America fight for?: If the United States pulls back, the world will become more dangerous
Other democracies must start preparing
2.2 Power off the money printer: America’s economy needs tighter monetary policy
Why the Fed should raise interest rates soon
2.3 Ageing creatively: What the world can learn from Japan
The oldest big country has lessons for those that will soon age and shrink
2.4 Global finance: China courts global capital, on its own terms
It is looking to reduce its dependency on the West, while increasing the West’s dependency on it
2.5 Plugging the gap: The tricky business of charging electric cars
Building public networks will require business and government to work together
3. Letters
3.1 On the size of government, nuclear power, chess, Afghanistan, past tenses: Letters to the editor
A selection of correspondence
4. Europe
4.1 Enter the quiet man: The challenges facing Olaf Scholz as Germany’s chancellor
Managing a three-party coalition will test his powers of patience and persuasion
4.2 Dame de fer: “Two-thirds Merkel, one-third Thatcher”: meet Valérie Pécresse
The French Republican nominee could beat Emmanuel Macron
4.3 Diplomacy with menaces: Joe Biden adopts a tough new tone with Vladimir Putin
But will it be enough to avert another Russian invasion of Ukraine?
4.4 Poldering on: The Dutch style of government: good for dykes, bad for covid
The Netherlands’ consensual “polder model” moves too slowly in a crisis
4.5 Charlemagne: Angela Merkel, the invisible European
The legacy of Europe’s most powerful leader is already fading away
5. Britain
5.1 The revolution stalls: Behind the chaos and scandal of Boris Johnson’s government lies stasis
Two years after a famous election victory, a would-be radical administration has run into the ground
5.2 Cost drivers: A court bashes Uber into compliance—again
The latest blow may mean vast bill for back taxes
5.3 Underlying issues: For the clinically vulnerable, “Freedom Day” has yet to arrive
When will those who have spent 21 months isolating be able to mingle freely again?
5.4 Dual carriageway: Britain is liberalising its listing rules to revive its battered bourse
Companies with dual-class shares will find it easier to raise equity funding
5.5 Bigger inside: Nostalgia and the profit motive have created a market in old phone kiosks
But BT, Britain’s former telecoms monopoly, is not happy
5.6 Santa’s little helpers: The robots are gathering to help beat Britain’s supply-chain shortages
Building automated warehouses
5.7 Bagehot: Britain’s new suburbs are peculiar places
They resemble neither American suburbs nor older British ones
6. Middle East & Africa
6.1 Naturalised selection: The Gulf states offer citizenship to a select group of foreigners
Give us your doctors, your inventors, your huddled scientists
6.2 Fratricidal tendencies: The Muslim Brotherhood is tearing itself apart
Two leaders vie for control of the oldest Islamist movement
6.3 All the president’s promises: Congo’s president has not kept his word
From free schools to peace in the east, Félix Tshisekedi has failed to deliver
6.4 Taking the helm: Africans are winning top jobs at international institutions
Until recently, the continent had been largely sidelined
7. United States
7.1 Money for something: What congressional funding reveals about America’s military priorities
Members are happy to fund hardware, but reluctant to let the Department of Defence make cuts
7.2 SPAC-handed: Donald Trump’s media SPAC is the zeitgeist wrapped in a complex financial instrument
It is also, fittingly, under the investigation of the SEC
7.3 Church and chalk: The Supreme Court seems ready to poke a hole in the church-state wall
Government funding for religious schools gets a high-court hearing
7.4 Man it does show signs of stopping: Late snowfall in the American West is part of pattern
By mid-century, the Pacific states could lose much of their snowpack
7.5 Sunset clauses and budgeting: The Democrats use a loophole to mask the cost of Joe Biden’s big bill
They are following a Republican precedent but making it even messier
7.6 To rent or not to rent: How landlords thwart America’s attempts to house poor people
It is one thing to receive a housing voucher and quite another to successfully use it
7.7 Lexington: How the culture wars can show what’s right with America
The arguments over statues matter more than the statues themselves
8. Briefing
8.1 A weary superpower: The world that the West built after Pearl Harbour is cracking
Not least because America is lukewarm about preserving it
9. The Americas
9.1 A salt and batteries: How Bolivian lithium could help fight climate change
But the country with the world’s largest resources is still struggling to extract them
9.2 Bello: Despite the polls, a centrist could win Colombia’s election in May
Undecided voters may shun Gustavo Petro, a populist of the left
10. Asia
10.1 On a high: South-East Asia is awash in drugs
The coup in Myanmar has helped cartels ramp up production
10.2 Algorithms and the law: Can Facebook be blamed for pogroms against Rohingyas in Myanmar?
Lawsuits in America and Britain seek billions of dollars in damages
10.3 Sunflower state: Many North Korean women outearn their husbands, but still do the chores
Women trade; men do badly paid state jobs
10.4 Tragedy in the Nilgiris: Bipin Rawat, India’s chief of defence staff, is killed in a helicopter crash
He had been tasked with reforming the country’s archaic armed forces
10.5 Banyan: Myanmar’s generals want Aung San Suu Kyi locked up forever
Yet the opposition to their regime has grown far beyond its figurehead
11. China
11.1 Harbouring no malice?: America worries about China’s military ambitions in Africa
China’s navy is eyeing the use of ports abroad, including on the Atlantic
11.2 The chips are down: China wants Macau to break its gambling addiction
Officials are trying to stop the mainland’s high rollers from visiting
11.3 Chaguan: Beijing’s Winter Olympics may hasten China’s break with the West
Diplomatic boycotts over human rights, plus draconian covid controls, spell trouble
12. International
12.1 Car wars: Politicians are sending mixed signals about private car ownership
National leaders are promoting it. Local ones want to curb driving
13. Special report
13.1 Japan: A country that is on the front line
Japan offers the world examples to follow as well as ones not to. It is as relevant as ever, argues Noah Sneider
13.2 Foreign and security policy: Why Japan needs more forceful defence
The strong case for more active and interventionist security and defence policies
13.3 Climate and the environment: Japan has a chequered record on climate change
Prepared for disaster, unprepared for climate change
13.4 Tokyo: The big city that is also pleasant to live in
Surprisingly, the world’s biggest city is also one of its most liveable
13.5 Demography: An ageing country shows others how to manage
Japan has aged faster than anywhere else, but it is learning how to cope
13.6 The economy: Japan’s economy is stronger than many realise
Not bad, but could be better
13.7 Immigration: Letting more migrants in by stealth
From a low base, immigration is growing quite fast
13.8 Looking ahead: The future could be brighter
It could be a lot better with younger and more dynamic political leaders
13.9 Sources and acknowledgments
14. Business
14.1 Current situation: A lack of chargers could stall the electric-vehicle revolution
Forget Tesla’s production hell. The hardest bit of EVs is the powering up
14.2 Bartleby: The shortcuts to Theranos
The trial of Elizabeth Holmes contains lessons for decision-makers of all kinds
14.3 The great reallocation: Want to own shares in Chinese companies?
Come to China
14.4 Psyber Boom: Dramatic growth in mental-health apps has created a risky industry
Customers’ “emotional data” can be hacked, and no one is checking if the apps work
14.5 How can we be heroes?: Why Germany is such tough terrain for food delivery
Complex labour laws, organised labour, pricey workers and stingy consumers all play a part
14.6 Schumpeter: Big business v big labour
American unions are reasserting their power. American companies are working out how to respond
15. Finance & economics
15.1 All mouth and no trousers: Evidence for the “great resignation” is thin on the ground
Job quits are not unusually high
15.2 Only disconnect: The difficulties of policing remote work
Why bans on after-hours calls may not work
15.3 Giving less generously: In word and deed, China is easing economic policy
Both the central bank’s actions and the Politburo’s words point to modest easing
15.4 Emergency exit: Two key questions for the European Central Bank
Will inflation eventually settle at its target, and are asset purchases still useful?
15.5 On the rails: The economics of a new China-Laos train line
Why connectivity matters
15.6 Nominal sums: America is seeing both fast growth and high inflation
What can nominal GDP reveal about the economic recovery?
15.7 Buttonwood: Why the dollar’s ascendancy won’t last
All it takes is a slowdown in America, lower inflation and a Fed pivot
15.8 Crypto’s crew: Crypto lobbying is going ballistic
As regulators toughen up, companies hope to influence where the rules end up
15.9 Free exchange: Why the demographic transition is speeding up
New research suggests “demographic contagion” could explain falling fertility rates
16. Science & technology
16.1 Mouse lemurs: A tiny primate may join the ranks of the world’s model organisms
Lemurs may be better than mice for understanding human disease
16.2 High-tech chickpeas: Chickpeas, a neglected crop, may soon get a high-tech makeover
A new genetic analysis paves the way for smart selective breeding
16.3 Mechanical engineering: How to build machines from liquid metal
Small blobs of liquid-metal alloy can replace troublesome moving parts
16.4 Crowd behaviour: What architects can learn from bull-running
A Spanish tradition offers insight into how crowds behave
17. Books & arts
17.1 Our books of the year: The best books of 2021
Our favourite works considered God, opioids, China and cannibalism
17.2 Staff books of the year: In 2021 our writers considered technology, meritocracy and the trans debate
Not to mention civil liberties, human cognition and the history of Athens
18. Economic & financial indicators
18.1 [Indicators
Economic data, commodities and markets](https://www.economist.com/economic-and-financial-indicators/2021/12/09/economic-data-commodities-and-markets)
19. Graphic detail
19.1 Mixed signals: Early data on Omicron show surging cases but milder symptoms
The variant’s capacity for reinfection appears unprecedented
20. Obituary
20.1 Climbing that hill: Bob Dole believed in hard work, not words
The Republican leader and quintessential Kansan died on December 5th, aged 98
