In The News

An Alternative to Boycotts or Divestment for Israel

Ian Shapiro and Nicholas Strong May 26, 2016
French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault invited international leaders to Paris on May 30 to make plans for reviving the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Peace and economic security go hand in hand. Israel is thriving despite boycotts by some European countries while the economic outlook is dismal for Gaza and the West Bank. “There is little evidence that boycotting Israel will have a...

Globalization Is More About Data and Less About Stuff

Susan Lund, James Manyika and Jacques Bughin March 18, 2016
Recent trends in globalization emphasize cross-border data and digital flows, argues a team from McKinsey Global Institute, an argument that coincides with YaleGlobal’s definition of globalization as the interconnectedness of the world in every area including trade and communications. “Today growth in global trade has flattened, and it looks unlikely to regain its previous peak relative to world...

Africa’s Rising Middle Class – And Why It Matters

Tom Jackson February 25, 2016
There are varying reports on the exact size of Africa’s middle class. Depending on definitions and income levels, the middle class could represent 6 percent or 34 percent of the overall population, reports Tom Jackson for New Africa Magazine. Yet analysts agree that consumer markets, opportunities and technological advances are expanding. The population is young, and the continent’s median age...

Call for US Ban on Muslims and Business Deals: IBT

Sarah Berger and David Sirota December 9, 2015
Bans of any sort are not good for business, perhaps especially so when a leading Republican presidential candidate calls for a blanket travel ban for Muslims seeking to enter the United States. One out of seven people in the world are Muslim, and simply uttering the broad and unworkable proposal could disrupt investment plans for Donald Trump’s business. “His company's on-the-ground dealings...

Thank You for Not Smoking

Heather Wipfli October 7, 2015
The passage of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, or FCTC, offers a critical case study of how international law can be harnessed to address public health issues. Heather Wipfli is author of “Global War on Tobacco: Mapping the World's First Public Health Treaty,” and an excerpt of her book was published in Foreign Affairs. With nearly 6 million tobacco-...

China Will Need to Rely on Intermediaries to Succeed in Hollywood

Henny Sender August 10, 2015
Chinese investors, including government-controlled firms, have focused on the US film industry, with the hope of studying the art of making Hollywood blockbusters: “US studios have the know-how but are cash-strapped and risk averse, while the Chinese have abundant capital and an appetite for risk, which lends itself to financing films,” writes Henny Sender for Financial Times. China encourages...

Is Climate Change Now Its Own Industry?

August 7, 2015
The climate-change industry – especially consulting on preventing, avoiding and preparing for extreme-weather events – is fast growing, explains a $995 report by Climate Change Business Journal, as covered by Insurance Journal. Corporations are conducting risk assessments that cover the next decade or two. Climate-change consulting extends deep into supply chains to avoid disruptions. “The report...