EconAir

  INTRODUCTION   Japan gets special consideration because it is further along the demographics declining population curve than any other large country. It has the oldest population (highest average age) in the world. Unless there are major changes in healthcare technology, immigration, public policy, and birth rates, most industrialized countries will follow Japan down the path of declining and aging populations, and smaller labor forces. Japan's demographics and immigration have become major political issues. In the July 2025 elections, two right-wing parties made substantial gains against the long-ruling Liberal  Democracy Party (LDP). Two of their main issues were the rapid rise of immigration and the repeal of a 10% consumption tax used to pay for the rising costs of supporting the aged. Both parties appealed to young voters.  The LDP has nominated a candidate for prime minister who also takes a hard line on immigration.   PROJECTIONS   Japan’...

  INTRODUCTION   The English East India Company (EIC) was an innovative new type of corporation It might be a model for how a multinational corporation could survive and prosper in an increasingly chaotic and hostile geopolitical world.   HISTORIC BACKGROUND   The East India Company (EIC) was chartered in 1600 by Queen Elizabeth I to promote and monopolize English trade with Asia. England, a poor country in the 1600s but with colonial ambitions after defeating the Spanish Armada in 1588, outsourced its colonial ambitions to the East India Company and other private companies.    The East India Company was originally privately funded by 218 merchants and other investors. It was the first modern multinational corporation. The EIC was a joint stock company, that is, a company with publicly traded stock bought and sold in a secondary stock market.  Like modern companies, the EIC issued financial reports, held annual meetings for stockholders, and had q...

There are a number of forecasts of what the world will be like after the virus. Let’s take a look at some of them. Many long-term trends have been accelerated by the virus.  Probably the most cited example has been the accelerated move to digital-based transactions and behavior. This has occurred among both consumers and businesses. I think we have hit an inflection point. Before, there was a great deal of discussion about how one industry or market was becoming more dependent on digital platforms and automation based on artificial intelligence. The Internet of Things, online shopping and ordering, business conferencing, telemedicine. Or how a particular company was transforming an industry (Amazon, Uber). But now we see that the entire economy –  al l industries and markets – rely on digital. The technology and rapid adaptation are accelerating the shifts. Income inequality is bad and probably getting worse.  The usual reasons given are outsourcing in th...