Nearly two and a half centuries ago, Adam Smith published the Research on the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. It set out principles that would become the basis for economic thinking about value creation and how to grow it, and the rules to be adopted to achieve these goals. Today, it is wealth creation and not wealth itself, built up over the years, that has become the focus of economic thinking and political debate. Growth, the increase in the wealth produced, has become the objective of governments, which have made it the main tool for improving the ...

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There is a striking contrast between the real situation of the American economy and the frequently catastrophic judgment about the French economy. In Parliament, discussions on the 2026 budget are beginning and the rating agency Standard & Poors has just downgraded France's rating to A+ with a stable outlook from AA- with a negative outlook. The fragility of the government, characterized by the narrowly rejection of a motion of censure and a heavy debt justified this decision. And it has triggered a wave of alarmist comments aimed at pushing through a rigorous budget despite a political context that is not ...

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The increase in climatic incidents is raising awareness that the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is the cause. It is then the responsibility of States to conduct policies aimed at reducing them. But a consensus is difficult to reach because the phenomenon is global and there is no link between a country's action and the benefits it will be able to derive from it. It is the accumulation over the years that is the cause. Emerging countries, because of their growth, generate more and more emissions, but they can legitimately claim that they are much less responsible ...

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