World Perspectives

Small Ideas; Technical Barriers; Advice to DOGE

Small Ideas U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the objective is to reduce the role of the government. This makes sense considering the explosion in government debt to the point investor Ray Dalio says otherwise there will be a debt crisis in three years.  There are two ways to address debt, reduce spending or increase taxes. There are objections to both approaches: beneficiaries of government programs are decrying spending cuts, and increased taxation can slow investment and the economy.  Secretary Bessent also said a goal is to “rebalance” the economy toward small businesses and consumers. That can be a contradiction. Consumers benefit from efficiency, which often favors scale. The Trump Administration is even...

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From WPI Consulting

Forecasting developments in production agriculture

On behalf of a private U.S. agricultural technology provider, WPI’s team generated an econometric model to forecast the movement of concentrated corn production north and west from the traditional U.S. Corn Belt. WPI’s model has subsequently provided quantitative support to a multi-million-dollar investment into short-season corn variety development. WPI’s methodology included a series of interviews with regional grain elevators and seed consultants. Emphasizing outreach and communication with stakeholders who possess intimate sectoral knowledge – on-the-ground insights – is a regular component of WPI’s methodologies, made possible by WPI’s ever-growing network of industry contacts.

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