The Forgotten 3 Billion, How Putin Could Attack the West, and More

October 22, 2022

The forgotten 3 billion

Around the world, there are 3.4 billion seemingly forgotten people. They are not extremely poor, not part of the middle class, and not rich. This group is often left out of the discourse on poverty and inequality, but they have been deeply affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic fallout. Wolfgang Fengler, Homi Kharas, and Juan Caballero examine the vulnerabilities facing these people and call for increased attention from policymakers.

Russia may prefer sabotage of critical infrastructure over nuclear weapons

Though there is a lot of tension around the prospect of nuclear war, deliberate acts of sabotage on critical infrastructure offer a more effective tool for Vladimir Putin to disrupt Western resolve than his repeated nuclear threats, writes Constanze Stelzenmüller in her recent op-ed.

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Listen: Will a strong dollar hurt emerging markets?

A strong U.S. dollar reflects economic and political strength for the United States, but it might not be good for other countries. On the latest episode of the Brookings Podcast on Economic Activity, Gian Maria Milesi-Ferretti, Maurice Obstfeld, and Haonan Zhou discuss what’s driving the stronger dollar, why it may hurt emerging markets, and policies those emerging markets can use to become more resilient to dollar appreciation shocks.

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