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Patrick Low
Patrick Low
Patrick Low is a fellow, Asia Global Institute at the University of Hong Kong

MacroscopeWhy the Montreal Protocol is the most successful climate agreement ever

Representatives celebrate the adoption of the Kigali Amendment on October 15, 2016 in Kigali, Rwanda, which agrees to phase out a category of dangerous greenhouse gases widely used in refrigerators and air conditioners. Nearly 200 countries agreed to end production and consumption of so-called hydrofluorocarbons under an amendment to the 1987 Montreal Protocol on protecting the ozone layer. Photo: AFP

HoroscopesBritain’s decision to go for a ‘hard’ Brexit promises rough ride ahead

Poles apart? Theresa May (left) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel after talks at the Chancellery in Berlin in July. Merkel has explicitly insisted that single market access requires full acceptance of the four freedoms of movement of labour, capital, goods and services. The same sentiments prevail among many member states. Photo: Reuters.

MacroscopePublic posturing on contested positions carries needless cost

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was advised in no uncertain terms by his German counterpart Wolfgang Schäuble recently, to go and read the Lisbon Treaty. Photo: AFP

MacroscopeThree fixes that can save the G20 from becoming just ‘a meeting place for leaders’

Gatherings of the leaders and finance ministers from the Group of 20 leading economies tend to promise a lot but come up short on substance
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MacroscopeWTO must ensure the benefits of the digital economy are available to every business, everywhere

A Hunan farmer makes a call on his smartphone. Patrick Low says the WTO must ensure that the available information and burgeoning platforms for conducting business are expanded to offer opportunities for businesses across the globe. Photo: Simon Song

MacroscopeG20 needs deeds, not mere words, to link trade and investment

Can governments transform what they say into what they do?

MacroscopeNo margin for error as UK sets about sealing new trade agreements

Britain will launch a charm offensive as it tackles the ‘daunting task’ of rewriting trade deals in the post-Brexit world

MacroscopeRising protectionism threatens global trade

Amidst weak global growth, countries around the world are turning inwards, hoisting trade barriers and protectionist practises, according to new data

MacroscopeNow for the difficult part: Keeping the Brexit negotiation from turning nasty is a huge challenge

Maintaining a civil and constructive tone to the exit negotiations is essential, if difficult, amid an atmosphere of political recrimination

MacroscopeGuaranteed income for everyone a big idea deserving of careful debate

The universal basic income proposal was roundly defeated by the electorate in Switzerland, with 77 per cent voting against. Photo: Xinhua

MacroscopeEconomists are struggling with this classic problem that lies at the heart of IMF policy

A man looks at a crossword puzzle as he sits on bench in Syntagma Square in Athens on May 22, 2016. Greece on May 22 was set to adopt fresh cuts and tax hikes ahead of a Eurogroup meeting that is expected to unlock desperately-needed bailout funds for the debt-ridden nation. Photo: AFP

Dumping at heart of Chinese trade stand off

A worker loads steel bars for export at a port in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province. Photo; Reuters.

MacroscopeThe Brexit question is down to the wire, and things are getting nasty

<p>The pro-Brexit camp have ‘soundbites on their side and popular anger over austerity and stagnant incomes’</p>

MacroscopeWhy have governments shied away from defending trade?

<p>Secret negotiations feed increasingly popular anti-trade sentiment</p>

MacroscopeLet’s hope world trade lull is just a snooze

<p>Cyclical measures are assumed to be transitory; structural factors can be too</p>

MacroscopeWhy millennials in rich societies face bleaker prospects than those in poor ones

<p>While emerging economies face the challenge of growing old before growing rich, they are better positioned to institute redistribution than rich nations</p>

MacroscopeWhy Hong Kong’s youth can no longer expect to be richer than their parents

If children across the industrial world and in places like Hong Kong do not inherit assets, they will have nothing to leave behind, except perhaps debts.Photo: David Wong

MacroscopeCommon sense not nostalgic yearning should be at the heart of Britain’s EU departure debate

<p>A Brexit would come at great cost and provide little benefit </p>

MacroscopeThe digital economy is a blessing and a threat

"Pepper", humanoid robots from Japan's telecommunication giant Softbank, are displayed at a smartphone stall to illustrate their applications for corporate use at the "Pepper World" exhibition in Tokyo on January 28, 2016. Softbank announced the company will open a pop-up smartphone shop in Tokyo next month as five Peppers will sell the smartphones to display their skills for customer services. AFP PHOTO / Yoshikazu TSUNO

MacroscopeRising inequality erodes growth, not just social cohesion

The morning sun casts shadows of protesters as they march in front of an entrance to the Port of Longview in Longview, Wash., Monday, Dec. 12, 2011. Anti-Wall Street protesters along the West Coast joined an effort Monday to blockade some of the nation's busiest docks, with the idea that if they cut off the ports, they cut into corporate profits. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

MacroscopeUS-China trade spats cloud prospects for progress

epa05099889 Workers walk at the container port in Qingdao, in east China's Shandong province, 13 January 2016. China's foreign trade surplus surged to 3.69 trillion yuan (562 billion dollars) in 2015, the government said, even as official figures showed that total trade dropped by 7 per cent compared to the year before. The surplus increased by 56.7 per cent from a year earlier, customs data showed. December's trade figures were better than expected amid continued concern over the slowing of the world's second-largest economy. Chinese exports in December rose by 2.3 per cent year on year, for the first increase since February 2015, while imports declined 4 per cent, a smaller loss than the previous month's 5.6-per-cent fall, the customs data showed. EPA/YU FANGPING CHINA OUT

MacroscopeAsean Economic Community faces numerous challenges

A commemorative coin with flags of ASEAN member countries is seen at the National Bank of Cambodia on December 25, 2015. The National Bank of Cambodia began the sale of silver souvenir coins bearing flags of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to celebrate ASEAN community 2015 and ASEAN Economy Community (AEC) in 2016. AFP PHOTO / TANG CHHIN SOTHY

NewWTO fighting a battle against irrelevance

(151219)-- NAIROBI, Dec. 19, 2015(Xinhua)-- Delegates congratulate Chair of the 10th WTO Ministerial Conference and Kenyan Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed (1st L) for the achievements of the conference after the closing of the 10th WTO Ministerial Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, Dec. 19, 2015. The 10th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Nairobi came to an end on Saturday after an extended negotiating period with a new Nairobi Declaration that promises to keep the international trading system alive.(Xinhua/Sun Ruibo)

MacroscopeWorld Trade Organisation faces moment of reckoning in Nairobi

Shipping containers from around the world are stacked at Port Botany in Sydney on December 3, 2010. A report released on April 6, 2011 said the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is calling on the Australian government to deliver large scale changes to the structure of the economy or face far-reaching consequences. AFP PHOTO / Torsten BLACKWOOD

MacroscopeProgress on climate change beckons in Paris

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY NICOLAS DELAUNAY (FILES)-- A file photo taken on December 6, 2013 shows the Eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier (Oosterscheldekering) in Vrouwenpolder, The Netherlands. Storm surge barriers, constant innovation, 17,500 km of dykes and dunes, the Netherlands pride themselves on being the "safest delta in the world." AFP PHOTO / ANP / BAS CZERWINSKI NETHERLANDS OUT

MacroscopeUncertainty over ratifying transpacific trade deal

A container ship passes in front of the Sydney skyline as it departs from Port Botany terminal in this February 24, 2010 file photo. Australia is expected to release trade balance data this week. REUTERS/Tim Wimborne/Files GLOBAL BUSINESS WEEK AHEAD PACKAGE - SEARCH "BUSINESS WEEK AHEAD OCTOBER 5" FOR ALL 29 IMAGES

MacroscopeNew research focuses on why growth tends to elude small and medium sized companies

Drew Ruana, 16, a competitive climbing national champion, trains at Stone Gardens rock climbing gym in Bellevue, Washington October 20, 2015. Sport climbing is one of five sports recommended for inclusion in the Olympics by organizers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, along with skateboarding, surfing, baseball/softball and karate. Competitive climbing, of which sport climbing is one of the disciplines, secured a foothold in Europe in the early 1980s and then gained traction in the United States a decade later. Picture taken October 20, 2015. To match Feature OLYMPICS-CLIMBING/ REUTERS/Jason Redmond

MacroscopePutting in place sustainable development goals at the UN

Cows eat in troughs which control the quantity of food ingested by each animal, in the new Herbipole research centre for the mountain farming of INRA (National Institute of Agricultural Research), during its inauguration in Laqueuille on September 16, 2015. AFP PHOTO / THIERRY ZOCCOLAN

MacroscopeAfrica ascendant although problems linger

Traffic passes through the streets of Addis Ababa as economic growth stokes growth in Africa. Photo: Reuters

MacroscopeMeasuring a country's worth beyond GDP

Men line up in Thimphu in Bhutan, which measures Gross National Happiness along with GDP. Photo: AFP
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TradeChina economyMacroscopeSuicides in Hong KongBrexit