Author Archives: populyst

A Different Kind of Border Wall

Posted on August 17, 2017

To slow mass migration, stop the illicit capital flight from poor to rich countries. We recently received this email message from an asset manager called ____ Capital: The US Investor visa program allows one to invest $500,000 U.S. in a … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Asia, Corruption, Cronyism, Demography, Economy, Emerging Markets, Europe, Hedge Funds, Immigration, Luxury Goods, Manhattan, Real Estate, Society, US Economy | Leave a comment

Capitalism Did Not Win the Cold War

Posted on July 19, 2017

This article first appeared at Foreign Affairs. Why cronyism was the real victor. When the Soviet Union collapsed 26 years ago, it was generally agreed that the West had won the Cold War. This was affirmed by the prosperity and … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Brazil, BRIC countries, Communism, Corruption, Cronyism, Economy, Emerging Markets, Foreign Affairs, Hedge Funds, New York, Offshore, Oil, Real Estate, Russia, Society, United States, US Economy | Leave a comment

New Infrastructure in Sub-Saharan Africa

Posted on June 26, 2017

This post will be continuously updated as we learn about new projects. Go to the bottom of the page for new entries. On the three main vectors of wealth creation, African countries have lagged other developing nations for several decades. … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Demographic Dividend, Demography, Dependency Ratio, Economy, Emerging Markets, Infrastructure, Innovation, Society, Sub-Saharan, World Bank | Leave a comment

Why Buffett Won His Bet Against Hedge Funds

Posted on May 16, 2017

QE had a lot to do with it. Active fund manager billionaires Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger have been critical of active fund manager millionaires for their very high fees and chronic underperformance. It is not unusual for the ultra wealthy to trash the … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Federal Reserve, Hedge Funds, Investment, Society, Stock Market, United States, Wall Street | Leave a comment

Father of the Bernie Sanders Presidency

Posted on April 13, 2017

President Trump’s elite-managed populism opens a path for a more genuine version. On the usual political spectrum, there are left and right, people who call themselves progressive or conservative, socialist/social democrat or capitalist. But these labels seem to mean less today than in the … Continue reading →

Posted in 2016 Candidates, Cronyism, Demography, Economy, Politics, Society, United States, US Economy | 1 Comment

Outsmarting Crime Together: CityCop CEO Nadim Curi, 23 March 2017

Posted on March 27, 2017

Sami J. Karam speaks to Nadim Curi, CEO of the anti-crime app CityCop. Powered by its successful rollout in Latin America started in 2014 and further boosted by funding from startup accelerator techstars, CityCop has staked a claim to turn its “social platform for … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Podcast, Society, Technology, Texas, United States | Leave a comment

The Economics of Dependency

Posted on March 1, 2017

This article first appeared at Foreign Affairs. How countries hit the demographic sweet spot. Demographics are among the most important influences on a country’s overall economic performance, but compared with other contributors, such as the quality of governance or institutions, their … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, BRIC countries, China, Corruption, Demographic Dividend, Demography, Dependency Ratio, Economy, Education, Europe, Foreign Affairs, India, Infrastructure, Innovation, Society, Sub-Saharan, United States, US Economy | Leave a comment

Trump Country: Where the Immigrants Aren’t

Posted on February 17, 2017

Trump did best in the states with the lowest percentages of foreign-born residents. “I love the poorly-educated”, gushed Donald Trump after winning the Nevada primary in February. But in the end, what happened in the primary, stayed in the primary. Come … Continue reading →

Posted in 2016 Candidates, California, Demography, Economy, Florida, Immigration, Politics, Society, Terrorism, Texas, United States | 1 Comment

To Save or Ruin Twitter

Posted on February 16, 2017

A decision that could fix Twitter or hasten its demise. This is not the first article to suggest that Twitter can generate some revenues by charging its users, but perhaps we can offer some new angles to the discussion. To begin, … Continue reading →

Posted in 2016 Candidates, Business Strategy, Economy, Innovation, Investment, Stock Market, Twitter, United States, US Economy, Wall Street | Leave a comment

Passive Funds Are Just Free-Riding Active Funds

Posted on February 1, 2017

If you and your neighbor have the same income and expenses except that he rides the bus for free every day while you pay a fare, he will be richer than you. Until recently, this was obvious: the neighbor is … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Innovation, Investment, Society, Stock Market, United States, US Economy, Wall Street | Leave a comment