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Helen Yaffe

LSE Fellow, Economic History, London School of Economics and Political Science

My training, research and university teaching have given me multidisciplinary expertise across the fields of economic history, political economy, Latin American studies, and human geography. My research interests include:

The ‘economic performativity’ of Latin American integration and ideas and institutions that have emerged to promote regionalism, past and present
The historical contexts in which economic ideas develop and are turned into policy
Cuban economic history
The political economy of socialist transition (debates) past and present
The Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas, trade and cooperation treaty

I am currently leading (with Dr Nick Kitchen) on a project set up between two LSE research centres - the Latin America and Caribbean Centre and the United States Centre – to examine the resilience of Cuba’s economic and political structures to the domestic reform process and rapprochement with the United States. The project has been awarded seed funding from the Institute of Global Affairs (IGA)-Rockefeller fund at LSE to enable me to carry out research in Cuba from December 2016 to January 2017. In 2013 I spent time in Venezuela, advising a government ministry (Ministerio de Poder Popular para las Comunas y los Movimientos Sociales) on a new economic management system they were developing and gave a series of lectures and presentations about my work on Cuban & Latin American political economy.

Global Geopolitics Series

Cuba is poor, but who is to blame – Castro or 50 years of US blockade?

Dec 04, 2016 02:40 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

Alongside his depiction as a brutal dictator, negative reflections on Fidel Castro since his death on November 25 have focused on his mismanagement of the Cuban economy and the consequent extremes of poverty suffered by...

Economy

German 2-Year Yield Hits 2023 High as Rate Hike Bets Rise

German short-term borrowing costs climbed sharply on Tuesday as investors increased bets that major central banks will keep monetary policy restrictive to combat energy-driven inflation. Germanys policy-sensitive two-year...

US Futures Fall as Fed Meeting, Oil Surge Rattle Markets

U.S. stock futures moved lower Tuesday as investors prepared for the Federal Reserves two-day policy meeting while escalating Middle East tensions pushed oil prices above $105 a barrel and lifted Treasury yields. Dow...

UK Wage Growth Slows as BoE Rate Decision Looms

Britains labour market remained weak heading into the Bank of Englands latest interest rate decision, with job vacancies falling to a four-year low and wage growth staying subdued. Average weekly earnings excluding bonuses...

Japanese Yen Retreats as Dollar Rises Ahead of Fed, BOJ Rate Decisions

The Japanese yen weakened further on Tuesday, retreating from a seven-month high as investors prepared for key interest rate decisions from the Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan later this week. USD/JPY climbed 0.24% to...

China Industrial Output Beats Forecasts as Exports Support Growth

Chinas industrial production grew faster than expected in August, supported by resilient overseas demand for Chinese exports even as other indicators pointed to continued weakness across the worlds second-largest economy....

Politics

Ukraine Races to Counter Russia’s Faster Jet-Powered Drones

Ukraine is scrambling to develop new air-defense weapons as Russia dramatically expands its use of fast, jet-powered attack drones that are proving difficult for existing interceptor systems to defeat. A Ukrainian military...

What is Zionism? The different meanings of a contested term

Haverford, a small liberal arts college in Pennsylvania, has become the latest U.S. school to settle a lawsuit over how it handled allegations of antisemitism. In a statement on Aug. 7, 2026, its president, Wendy Raymond,...

Lula, Flavio Bolsonaro Deadlocked in Brazil Election Polls

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro are locked in a statistical tie in potential runoff matchups ahead of Brazils presidential election next month, according to two polls...

Judge Blocks Trump Rule Limiting Foreign Student Visas

A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from enforcing a new immigration rule that would restrict how long foreign students, exchange visitors and journalists can remain in the United States without seeking...

Trump Rejects Calls for Tougher AI Regulation

President Donald Trump pushed back against growing calls for stricter AI regulation on Monday, arguing that the United States already has sufficient safeguards to police artificial intelligence companies and prevent...

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

Rosenblatt Starts Nokia at Buy on AI Networking Growth

Rosenblatt initiated coverage of Nokia with a Buy rating and a $15 price target, citing the companys growing exposure to artificial intelligence infrastructure and strong position in optical networking. Analyst Mike...

MediaTek Unveils 2nm Dimensity 9600 Pro AI Chip

Taiwans MediaTek has unveiled its latest flagship smartphone processors, including its first chip manufactured with TSMCs advanced 2-nanometre technology, as the company pushes deeper into premium handsets and on-device...

Qualcomm Gains on $60B Amazon AI Chip Deal

Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) has emerged as one of the strongest performers in Investing.coms AI-powered Strategies portfolio after securing a major artificial intelligence infrastructure partnership with Amazon Web Services....

Cathie Wood Backs AI Slowdown as Safety Concerns Grow

ARK Investment Management founder Cathie Wood has welcomed calls from leading artificial intelligence executives to slow the rapid advancement of AI technology, arguing that greater scrutiny could help protect the industry...

Big AI wants to slow down AI research. Is it a safety pause or a strategic retreat?

Over the weekend, Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei called for artificial intelligence (AI) companies, including his own, to slow down their work. Sam Altman and Elon Musk, heads of rivals OpenAI and xAI respectively,...