ZANNY MINTON BEDDOES

The Franco-German tandem at the core of post-war European integration has become lopsided. Relations between Berlin and Paris are unusually poor, with some French politicians decrying the 'selfish intransigence' in the euro crisis of Germany's chancellor, Angela Merkel.

Regional currencies will prove the best route to reconciling the economic imperatives of increasing international capital mobility with the political realities of the nation-state.

Europe's budget plans are better designed: countries from France to Greece are raising retirement ages; others, from Britain to Germany, have created new organisations and rules to encourage fiscal probity. But Europe risks overkill.

There are a lot of people who are moving from unemployment to disability rolls, and there are a lot of people who have been out of work for a long time who are unable to get jobs. And I think that from a long-term perspective, this is not just a human tragedy, but it's going to be a potentially big hit on the economy in the future.

Although the world has changed dramatically since 1843, we believe that the values that guide 'The Economist' are as relevant as ever.

The former West Germany was a semi-sovereign political pygmy, protected by America's military might and with barely any foreign policy of its own. As a result, the country has no machinery or tradition of strategic thinking, and most Germans are loth to see their government take the lead.

The IMF played crucial roles in the 1980s debt crisis and in the transformation of former communist economies. Radical change, many might argue, is neither necessary nor desirable.

America should do more to fix the still-festering housing crisis and overhaul its training schemes so that high joblessness does not become entrenched. Hunkering down for austerity is not enough. The rich world needs a strategy for growth.

The impact of a minimum wage depends on how high it is to average wages. If you have too high a minimum wage, it will hurt job creation, and you will have negative job effects.

Firstly, I think the values that underpin all liberals, frankly - classical liberals, all liberals - of respect for the individual and freedom are worth fighting for.

Free-trade enthusiasts fret that regional trade arrangements divert more trade than they create.

When financial sectors are small and capital is mobile, floating exchange rates spell massive currency volatility. When a lot of foreign capital flows in, a freely floating exchange rate rises sharply, wreaking havoc for domestic banks and exporters alike.

I can't wait for the day when it is no longer newsworthy that a woman is appointed editor of a newspaper.

The problem with one single minimum wage is that you don't allow for younger people, who are less skilled and maybe more easily pushed out of the job market, or that the minimum wage should vary for different regions.

Governments need to lay out a credible path to reducing their deficits in the medium term, but without excessively enfeebling an already weak recovery. That means raising retirement ages and overhauling pensions; putting in place the budget rules and institutions that will curb future profligacy; and favouring spending cuts over tax increases.

It is foolish for anyone to be complacent.

Developing countries have much to gain from capital mobility: the ability to tap external sources of finance, greater financial efficiency from deeper stock and bond markets, and technology transfer and know-how from foreign direct investment.

Subscriptions is the bulk of our business; ads are nice to have on top of that.

France's economy is stagnant, statist, and uncompetitive and urgently needs reform.

Classic English liberalism of the sort that 'The Economist' was founded to champion and still espouses is about open societies and free markets.

It's very important to say that what I mean when I say 'liberal' is liberal in the 19th-century British sense. Pro-market, pro-individual, freedom, pro-openness. Not the American sense.

The industrial world enjoys a rare combination of growth and low inflation; the 'Washington consensus,' a model of economic development that emphasizes macroeconomic discipline and open markets, is being adopted by more countries.

Many European countries and Japan need to free their labour markets and liberalise services to boost productivity growth.

We have no idea in what way tomorrow's consumers will want to consumer their media.

I think Britain's economy has done extremely well from having the influx of talented people from around the world and from having an influx of people from the rest of the European Union. It's both evidence of how strong the British economy was - that's what drew people in - but it's also part of what's making the British economy work.