Why economists should like booze
A martini doesn’t just steady the nerves after a rollercoaster week
Sobriety is taking over the world. The amount of alcohol consumed globally is probably in decline for the first time in history. Across rich countries many members of Gen Z—born after the late 1990s—are shunning alcohol entirely: 30% of Americans in their 20s did not drink in the previous year. Even in France young professionals no longer have a pichet of wine with lunch.
Explore more
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Time for a stiff drink”
Finance & economics
May 3rd 2025- Why China has the upper hand in its trade war with America
- America may be just weeks away from a mighty economic shock
- Vladimir Putin’s money machine is sputtering
- How a mortgage transforms your investment portfolio
- A takeover bid promises consolidation in Italian finance
- The risky world of private assets opens up to retail investors
- Why economists should like booze
From the May 3rd 2025 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the edition
Want to be a good explorer? Study economics
The battle to reduce risk has shaped centuries of ventures
Jane Street is chucked out of India. Other firms should be nervous
Around the world, marketmakers now face extra scrutiny
Japan has been hit by investing fever
Will old folk catch the bug?
Don’t invest through the rearview mirror
Markets are supposed to look forward; plenty of investors look back instead
Trump’s trade deals try a creative way to hobble China
To appease the world’s biggest market, countries must anger the world’s biggest trader
The great dealmaker is conspicuously short of trade deals
Donald Trump issues threats—and grants deadline extensions