It would be best to broaden the new round to areas such as industrial tariffs, investment and competition policy, to allow more scope for the trade-offs on which a final deal depends.

ECONOMIST: Storm over globalisation

Or allow such huge scope for making political donations to congressmen from both parties?

ECONOMIST: Fannie, Freddie and Uncle Sam

Some Cuban economists expect that in the coming months the government will grant more scope for family businesses and foreign investment, and allow state companies more autonomy.

ECONOMIST: Fidel Castro steps down

Although the scope of Mr Augustine's latest review does not allow for such an explicit conclusion this time, it would still be able to place more emphasis on private-sector human spaceflight and demand more unmanned missions to the moon.

ECONOMIST: Human spaceflight: Over the moon? | The

Other innovations, such as producing liquefied natural gas from offshore sources and shipping it to its destinations directly, and technologies that might allow exploitation of the natural gas that is frozen into some permafrosts, further increase the scope for new production.

ECONOMIST: Unconventional gas