There is a dynamic underway in the space industry that is disrupting the way space technology is developed and deployed.  This new dynamic may accelerate the expansion of human presence in space and the colonization of the moon and Mars. This latest area of “democratization” of technology will also open the use of space to a wide range of players, including non-state actors, all over the planet.  Some of what the startups are doing theoretically could have been done by the aerospace giants but were likely inconceivable within their business models.

The leaders in FinTech and banking are featured as American Banker releases its annual list of FinTech companies to watch, and Burnmark releases an excellent and comprehensive report on challenger banks throughout the world. Take a look, too, at a future without cash in this week's links.

This week we bring you some of the best discussions of the evolution of macroeconomic theories post-2008. What seemed so certain before is now being questioned at a fundamental level by leading economists. Negative interest rates, which alter rational expectations of inflation, have also provoked some of this soul searching. But will new models and new theories be any better at predicting the next crisis?

STORIES IN OUR SPOTLIGHT

Foreign Affairs just published a piece by me regarding TPP in its online edition at https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/americas/2016-09-21/trading-down.

It is entitled: Trading Down: Is the TPP Making the United States a Less Benign Hegemon?

Here is the excerpts:

I am sharing an interesting article from the World Economic Forum titled The things we really need are getting more expensive. Other stuff is getting cheaper. Why? I have copied the full text below. So my question is, when will we begin to see inflation?

The Board Director Training Institute of Japan (BDTI) is a government-certified nonprofit providing one-day “director training” courses in English and Japanese, and governance-related seminars and e-learning courses. These programs teach participants key knowledge needed to serve on, report to, or analyze boards in Japan.

Here is my comment on Martin Sandbu's  Free Lunch: Where did all the productivity go? And what would it take to make it grow again?

We’ll be resuming with our September issue after Labor Day. Hope you’ve been having a good summer.

This is an advanced copy of  an interview with Michael Green that will be in the issue. Michael Green, a former member of the George W. Bush National Security Council, explains why he is opposing Donald Trump and endorsing Hillary Clinton.