Profile picture
, 4 tweets, 2 min read
My Authors
Read all threads
Provincial debt is already a serious problem, and this year it is likely to get much worse as the government counters the impact of the coronavirus on consumption with a bigger boost to public sector investment. What a lot of economists...

scmp.com/economy/china-… via @scmpnews
@SCMPNews ...don’t consider is that financial distress costs are convex, not linear with debt, which means that they rise more quickly than debt. If a country has a provincial debt problem, in other words, it can be worse if the provincial debt is unevenly spread than if it is evenly...
@SCMPNews ...spread, although that also depends on how easily businesses and economic activity can move from province to province.

The debt-seminar students who meet at my house every week have been working on figuring out the optimal ways in which to resolve provincial...
@SCMPNews ...debt, but, needless to say, it isn’t easy, and the best solutions economically are often politically the most difficult.
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh.

Enjoying this thread?

Keep Current with Michael Pettis

Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime, convert it as a PDF, save and print for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video

1) Follow Thread Reader App on Twitter so you can easily mention us!

2) Go to a Twitter thread (series of Tweets by the same owner) and mention us with a keyword "unroll" @threadreaderapp unroll

You can practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @michaelxpettis see all

Profile picture
Michael Pettis
@michaelxpettis
Although I instinctively support any call to reduce the US military presence abroad, and would also like to see the US bear less of the exorbitant burden that comes from the dominant role of the US dollar, I don’t think this article gets it right in...
newrepublic.com/article/156325…
...describing the relationship between the two. For one thing, the 19th Century “dollar diplomacy” to which it refers has nothing in common with the current dominance of the dollar: it merely refers to the fact that Washington was willing to lend or give money to further its...
...foreign policy objectives, something it could do even though the US dollar was a fairly minor global currency at the time, contrary to what the author implies. China, after all, is able to do even more under BRI with a currency of negligible global importance.

What’s more...
Read 8 tweets
Profile picture
Michael Pettis
@michaelxpettis
“Something like Libra would make transactions costs much cheaper. Major central banks need to appeal that they, too, are making efforts to make settlement more efficient with better use of digital technology.”

But why? Shouldn't we first...

scmp.com/economy/global… via @scmpnews
@SCMPNews ...ask how useful it is to reduce transaction costs associated with payments transfers, and for whom? If lower transaction costs spur activity in the markets for real goods and services, or if they encourage greater long-term investment in productive economic activity, then...
@SCMPNews ...they are good for the economy, but transaction costs are already so low that it is hard to imagine they will make much difference to “real” transactions. If lower transaction costs encourage more speculative activity, capital flight, investment fads, and debt, however, then...
Read 5 tweets
Profile picture
Michael Pettis
@michaelxpettis
I apologize in advance for this long rant, but there really should be more outrage about this. I spent and enjoyed most of my career running bond trading and capital markets desks on Wall Street, and so I'm definitely not reflexively..

ft.com/content/6d0bc9… via @financialtimes
@FinancialTimes ...anti-Wall Street, but it's incredible that, as this FT article puts it, “Wall Street has emerged as one of the main winners from the ‘phase-one’ accord with Beijing”. In fact they are the only winner on the American side.

The trade deal is supposed to address real problems...
@FinancialTimes ...faced by American workers and local businesses, and the concessions Washington obtained from Beijing in exchange for access to US markets were meant to boost the US economy. Washington has every right and reason to intervene in the trade and capital imbalances in which...
Read 8 tweets

Related threads

Profile picture
Emily Ricotta, PhD
@Iplaywithgerms
From the @CDCgov update on #coronavirus: 110 persons under investigation in US from 26 states. Only 5 have been confirmed.
@CDCgov Assay protocol for test has been published, and CDC is working to prioritize state health departments for receiving tests. Will release to other domestic/intl labs later.

Sequences from 2 US patients have been uploaded to Genbank.
@CDCgov 16 intl locations, including US, have identified cases of #nCoV2019
Read 18 tweets
Profile picture
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
@DrTedros
I am on my way to Beijing, 🇨🇳 to meet with the Government & health experts supporting the #coronavirus response. My @WHO colleagues & I would like to understand the latest developments & strengthen our partnership with 🇨🇳 in providing further protection against the outbreak.
We are working 24/7 to support 🇨🇳 & its people during this difficult time & remain in close contact with affected countries, with our regional & country offices deeply involved. @WHO is updating all countries on the situation & providing specific guidance on what to do to respond
Building on experience and systems already in place for related pathogens, @WHO has activated global networks of experts, quickly developed advice for countries everywhere, and is working with them to activate their response systems. #coronavirus
Read 3 tweets
Profile picture
War Watch
@war_watch
[THREAD] China Coronavirus Outbreak
A deadly virus is spreading from Asia, affecting hundreds of people and resulting in dozens of deaths, in what may become a gloabal health epidemic. This thread contains news about the outbreak.
#Coronavirus #WuhanOutbreak #ChinaVirus #WarWatch
On Dec 30, 2019, Chinese authorities confirmed cases of pneumonia of unknown cause in Wuhan, Hubei Province. A team of national experts was sent to carry out detection tests. Patients at a local seafood market were put in quarantine.
#Coronavirus #WuhanOutbreak #ChinaVirus
Liu Youning, a professor of epidemiology and respiratory medicine, told the Global Times that the #coronavirus found in #Wuhan appears to be far less serious than the virus that caused the severe acute respiratory syndrome (#SARS) or the Middle East respiratory syndrome (#MERS).
Read 34 tweets
Profile picture
Geoff Ginter
@geoff_ginter
For hose who still believe that economics is irrelevant to #SinglePayer #healthcare (or to any healthcare ‘plan’ that’s out there), I was once like you. But you and I, and everyone else like us, were/are a critical part of the problem.

Let’s begin. #MMT 1/
No matter what your goal is (starting a business, fighting a war, designing a healthcare system etc) you need the resources neasesary to be successful and accomplish your goal. To the degree that you don’t get the needed resources you will fail to meet that goal on some level. 2/
And how do we get access to resources? Money. 💰is the legal means by which we get resources. So it matters who pays for any endeavor. How much 💴 they can bring to bear is going to have a direct impact on acquiring the needed resources so you can succeed at your goal. 3/
Read 21 tweets
Profile picture
Ahmed Tabaqchali
@AMTabaqchali
"Up #debt creek without a paddle"
#Iraq's budget’s structural imbalance between current & investment expenditures, as ever-increasing current expenditures will overtake revenues, needs debt to fund this gap.

Data in chart: 2010-2024 IMF estimates & projections.

1/10
#Iraq has been fortunate that higher oil prices & exports led to a budget surplus of over $27.5bn by end of Jul 2019. Revenue-expenditure gap is pushed forward in time. But, it is only a matter of when, not if, expenditures will overtake revenues.



2/10
This structural imbalance needs time be addressed, in the meantime there will be an urgent need to finance both.

The social contract, re-public employment, cannot be broken without creating the conditions for private sector growth to absorb an ever-growing labour force.

3/10
Read 10 tweets

Trending hashtags

#Parliament #Koalas #deficit #employment #strike #Pandemic #coronaviruses #CoronavirusOutbreak #WolfPups #unemployment #investment #MPs #EU #Arizona #YYZ #WarWatch #wage #Kebetu #Article50 #nCoV2019 #Istanbul #MAGA #WHO #reforms #SinglePayer
Follow Us on Twitter!

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just three indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3.00/month or $30.00/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!