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Behind blue eyes: Simon Taylor's blog. Behind blue eyes: Simon Taylor's blog.

China

Nuclear is only a small part of the answer to climate change
14 Aug 2023

Nuclear is only a small part of the answer to climate change

by Simon Taylor | posted in: China, Economics, Energy, International affairs | 0

Nuclear has a role to play in providing reliable carbon-free electricity, but in the US and Europe it is likely to be too expensive to have more than a small role. * As I have written two books about nuclear … Continued

China, construction, energy, nuclear power, UK, US
You can’t insure against climate change
13 Jul 2023

You can’t insure against climate change

by Simon Taylor | posted in: China, Energy, International affairs | 0

Climate change involves systemic risk, so it’s not possible to insure against, or diversify away the risk. * Over the years I have sometimes heard investors talk of insuring their portfolios against climate change risks. A group of students once … Continued

Climate change, Insurance, Portfolio diversification, risk management
The paradox of Chinese Communist ideology
26 Mar 2023

The paradox of Chinese Communist ideology

by Simon Taylor | posted in: China, International affairs | 0

A country with several thousand years of distinctive cultural history is governed through European ideology * It is often said that China is one of the world’s oldest civilisations, tracing a history back to around 2,200BCE. Of course there were … Continued

China, history
Has the US “lost” China a second time?
22 Feb 2021

Has the US “lost” China a second time?

by Simon Taylor | posted in: China, International affairs | 3

The shift of US attitudes on China owes as much to American disappointments as it does to changes in China’s behaviour * After the revolution that brought the Chinese Communist Party to power in 1949, a shocked US foreign policy … Continued

China, Foreign policy, Geopolitics, International relations
India and China
20 Jun 2020

India and China

by Simon Taylor | posted in: Book recommendation, China, International affairs | 0

Recent news of increasingly lethal clashes on the long and disputed border between India and China raises a question, how have the two most populous nations on Earth previously mostly kept the peace? * “Good fences make good neighbours” Robert … Continued

China, Geography, Geopolitics, history, India, Vietnam
Why “Chinese virus” is wrong
6 May 2020

Why “Chinese virus” is wrong

by Simon Taylor | posted in: Book recommendation, China | 3

I was asked a question by a student today and I thought I would share my answer in this blog. The question: “You rightly call the global financial crisis of ’08 the North American crisis – in attribution, correctly, to … Continued

China, crises, debt, history, US
Could China’s population halve by the end of the century?
1 Apr 2019

Could China’s population halve by the end of the century?

by Simon Taylor | posted in: Book recommendation, China, Economics, International affairs | 4

Demography, the study of population, is one of the few areas of the social sciences where long term predictions (over one or more decades) can have some value. This is because the dynamics of population growth depend on the current … Continued

China, demography, globalisation
What has the world economy ever done for us? – EMBA elective reading 2 (*)
14 Jan 2019

What has the world economy ever done for us? – EMBA elective reading 2 (*)

by Simon Taylor | posted in: China, Course material, Economics, EMBA, International affairs, MFin | 2

A lot of people in the richer economies appear doubtful that economic globalisation has been good for them. But there are hundreds of millions in the rest of the world for whom globalisation has been a critical part of their … Continued

China, EMBA, globalisation, growth, poverty
Are we heading for a world like that of “1984”?
7 Oct 2018

Are we heading for a world like that of “1984”?

by Simon Taylor | posted in: China, Economics, International affairs | 0

I think the world may be fragmenting into increasingly separate economic and cultural regions, one dominated by China, another led but not dominated by the US, with other nations watching and wondering how best to position themselves. This reminds me … Continued

BRI, China, development, globalisation, growth, international finance
What’s the future for peer-to-peer lending?
23 Sep 2018

What’s the future for peer-to-peer lending?

by Simon Taylor | posted in: China, Course material, Finance sector, Financial products, MFin | 5

P2P (peer-to-peer) lending is the biggest and most developed form of alternative finance. But does it have any enduring value to add in the financial system? * P2P lending platforms have sprung up in many countries since the global financial crisis, … Continued

alternative finance, banks, China, credit, fintech, P2P, regulation
Is China’s debt even higher than we thought?
27 Oct 2017

Is China’s debt even higher than we thought?

by Simon Taylor | posted in: China, Course material, Finance sector, MFin | 4

The high and rising level of Chinese corporate and local government debt has been a concern for several years. Recent data from the People’s Bank of China suggests the true figure may be much higher than we thought, but things … Continued

China, debt, shadow banking
Why are some countries richer than others?
27 Mar 2017

Why are some countries richer than others?

by Simon Taylor | posted in: Book recommendation, China, Course material, Economics, International affairs | 0

The first part of my new MFin elective Understanding the World Economy and Financial System next term will explore the question, why are some countries richer than others? * One of the most important, interesting but hotly contested questions in economics … Continued

Three interesting facts about Chinese monetary history
26 Feb 2017

Three interesting facts about Chinese monetary history

by Simon Taylor | posted in: China, Course material, Finance sector | 5

Former IMF Chief Economist Eswar Prasad’s excellent book Gaining Currency – The Rise of The Renminbi starts with a fascinating chapter on China’s monetary history, the longest by far of any country. The book is ultimately a persuasive answer to the … Continued

The world in 2017
3 Jan 2017

The world in 2017

by Simon Taylor | posted in: Book recommendation, China, Economics, International affairs | 0

It’s generally agreed that we face an unusually uncertain outlook this year: elections in France and Germany, the path for the UK’s leaving of the European Union and above all, how will President Trump act? Underneath the political fog there … Continued

US capitalism no longer works for most people
10 Nov 2016

US capitalism no longer works for most people

by Simon Taylor | posted in: China, Economics | 0

Single cause explanations of events such as Brexit or the Trump victory are too simple. But there is an important and worrying economic background fact to both, which is that the Anglo-US style of western capitalism seems to have stopped … Continued

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About

Simon is a member of the finance faculty group at Cambridge Judge Business School. From 2008-18 he was the first Director of the University of Cambridge Master of Finance (MFin) degree, and he is now Director of the University's Global Executive MBA. An economist and former equities analyst at JPMorgan and Citigroup, he teaches on financial markets and institutions, infrastructure finance and the world financial system. He is a Fellow in Economics at St. Catharine's College, Cambridge. His book on nuclear power in the UK was published in March 2016.

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