There is no causal model, because economists don't do causal models. There is no robustness check against alternative scenarios, because economists don't do causal models and you need a causal model to construct credible alternative scenarios. There is no internal consistency check on the story, because the Economist does not do due diligence when a naive reading supports the conclusion it wants.

The overwhelming majority of your average issue of The Economist is written by highly educated incompetents for highly educated incompetents.

- Jake

Friends come and go. Enemies accumulate.