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The FT's profile this weekend of Jim O'Neill, the Goldman Sachs economist who coined the now ubiquitous acronym 'BRICS,' got me thinking about one of my main objectives for IPE Journal: a dedicated focus on the 'rise of the rest.' In looking back over the history of my posts, I realized that the financial crisis, perhaps inevitably, distracted me from this emphasis as my coverage became far more US-centric than I anticipated or desired. That is partly a reflection of the US' role in the crisis and the overwhelming media coverage of the US financial sector over the past year, partly my own engrained anglo-saxon bias in choice of literature and media outlets, and partly a recognition that the majority of our readers are in fact based in North America.

But the pace with which countries like China, Brazil and Indonesia have emerged from the Great Recession has crystalized the importance of the emerging economies to not just my own worldview, but I suspect those of our readers as well. So the following links represent a shift back to the emerging markets and issues that are likely to play a defining role in the years ahead. That is not to say my coverage of US banks or Gordon Brown will cease entirely, but expect a much smaller role for Lord Mandy in the months ahead. This is, after all, a blog on International Political Economy. But I do love Mandelson.

-Via Free Exchange, The Economist looks at a McKinsey study on deleveraging that partly demonstrates why the big emerging markets have emerged far quicker from the crisis than the major economies (Russia aside). If you follow the links to the actual article, I found it interesting that when viewed through the prism of crises, countries like the US and Spain currently look a lot like emerging markets have historically in the aftermath of such episodes.

-China finally takes its foot off the gas by raising reserve requirements on lenders and reimposing a sales tax on certain home sales, fearing that the economy is overheating (asset bubbles and inflation). Conventional wisdom six months ago held that China was likely to allow a gradual depreciation of the renminbi to export its way out of the economic slowdown. Six months later, is a gradual appreciation more likely in 2010?

-A constitutional crisis looms in Nigeria, threatening a recovery in oil output and social/political stability.

-Chile continues the resurgence of the right in the Americas. With Venezuela plunging quite literally into darkness and (hyper)inflation, the 'Bolivarian Revolution' that swept the region looks less-than-promising ten years on.

-Finally, and contrary to the first link, the future may be bright for the emerging economies, but are investors touched by a bit of irrational enthusiasm at the moment?

Even looking back after 20 years at the collapse of the Berlin Wall - and by extension, the collapse of Soviet communism - it's hard to wrap your mind around the enormity of the change that swept through Eastern Europe.

I've seen plenty of articles recently that attempt to put things in perspective, but this piece by Der Spiegel strikes me as being particularly good. I'm about half-way through, but it drives home how the real revolution took place not in Berlin, but elsewhere in Poland, Hungary and Moscow.

It's not short, but definitely worth a read.


(Image from Europa.eu)

Your Wednesday readables are as follows:

- Awesome: The newsmap

- Nutty: The Higgs boson is traveling back in time to sabotage the Large Hadron Collider. I sincerely hope that this does not impact adversely on the sales of the Junior Wizard Supercollider.

- Rant: Careers in investment banking are still popular for recent grads "for the simple reason that... these jobs are f**king awesome."

- Funny: "You must understand what bankers do: we don't make furniture; we don't write novels; we make money."

This morning's readables, to be enjoyed with coffee (or your stimulant of choice):

• Fred Bergsten urges Obama to be bold on trade in an op-ed for the FT.
• What went wrong with economics? With reponses being posted here, here annnnd here.
• Not-so-well-endowed: Harvard is facing financial troubles. Is Larry Summers partly to blame?
• Rumours that two of the most awful places on the planet are teaming up.
• Dan Drezner discusses Iran, rap music and international relations theory

- Wired has a fascinating article on the attempt by one man to create an alternative currency using the internet: E-Gold. Although E-Gold has failed (due largely to its attracting the attention of unsavoury types, and subsequently the FBI), this story raises all sorts of interesting questions about what money actually is, and whether national/supranational bodies are going to be able to maintain their control over the currency we use in day-to-day transactions.

- Nouriel Roubini analyzes Latvia's economic troubles, drawing parallels with Argentina's default in 2001. He writes: "At this point, a currency and financial crisis is pretty much unavoidable." Who cares? you might ask. But there are also strong parallels with Thailand's situation leading into the East Asian financial crisis which began in 1997. Only this time it is Europe's fragile economies that are on the line.

- Raging against bad statistics: Buiter on the costs of smoking and Ben Goldacre on the costs of illegal downloading.

- North Korea is not content to let the world forget that it is bat**** crazy

- There are grumblings and speculations about the US losing its AAA sovereign debt rating after the UK was threatened with a downgrade last week. I'm inclined to agree with Felix Salmon on this one: credit rating agencies have lost so much credibility in recent months that their opinion doesn't count for much. Nevertheless, that doesn't take away from the huge challenges facing the US economy (and its currency) as the government loads up on debt.

- Please leave the UK: a message that's not just for immigrants anymore! (via The Browser)

- The Canadian winter olympics committee has unintentionally revealed the secret weapon to be used by their olympic snowboarders in 2010. Slow learners, those Canucks.

Awesome blogs by "really smart people" (pointer from Free Exchange)

The Buy-American mentality in action: a Belgian-owned, Canadian-made pipe is ripped out of the ground and replaced by an identical one that was made in the U.S. of A. Serves 'em right for making bilingual pipes, anyway.

The podcast of a CFR round-table entitled "The Financial Crisis and Global Financial and Monetary Cooperation"

Boeing's arial drones are now available for rent.

Taking stock at Arsenal

Recommended readings, to be enjoyed with coffee:

Gillian Tett - Financial markets: the case for radical intellectual overhaul

The Economist's backgrounder on South Africa's next president, Jacob Zuma

Esther Duflo outlines the basics of AIDS prevention: abstinence vs. risk reduction, with findings based on actual field work.

Cyprus - more divided.

Matt Taibbi asks the (*shudder*) teabaggers some questions

The promise of cheap genome sequencing

Just in time for Easter: a history of eggs

The Ascent of Stan, or: why you will end up as lame as your parents.

An interesting parallel between the impact of oxygen and intelligence on our planet.

And as someone who regularly has objects flung in his direction as the result of a groan-worthy pun, I particularly enjoyed this artice.

Worth reading:

Continental Drift - James Suroweiki helps explain why Europe and the US have a different take on how to tackle the financial crisis. Tyler Cowen chips in with a reminder about the impact of fiscal stimulus during German re-unification. (UPDATE: DeLong qualifies)

A one-page FAQ on the new plan to rescue the banking system.

Getting regulation right, with an interesting discussion about risk.

This is what happens when financial markets do not read my blog. Animal spirits indeed.

Schott's Vocab - a NYT blog on modern words & phrases. I enjoyed the "recession beard" - a beard with a story.

Or, "Everything You Need To Know About The Financial Crisis"

By now most people are aware that all is not well with "the economy." But if you're looking for a summary of the whole thing, with varying levels of detail to choose from, I recommend browsing through The Money Meltdown.

For the more historically-minded, our friend Patrick has drawn attention to a great website for learning about the gold standard. What fun.