In The News

Central Asia Is Corrupted by Cotton

Quentin Peel March 10, 2005
Though many developing countries are cheering a recent WTO ruling declaring US agricultural subsidies illegal, indigent farmers in Central Asia will never know the difference. Since the dismantling of the Soviet regime, the cotton industries in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan have been hijacked by wealthy insiders. Working with international traders, middlemen sell expensive inputs to...

The Year of Africa's Economic Turnaround?

Amarnath Singh March 8, 2005
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the economies of 30 African countries, as well as the continent as a whole, are projected to grow at a relatively high rate this year. However, Africa's nations still face many obstacles to becoming market miracles. Many remain paralyzed by poverty, AIDS, bad governance, high development and infrastructure costs, and social instability....

China's timber use ravages forests

Tim Johnson March 7, 2005
Much to the distress of their US competitors, Chinese manufacturers are charging very low prices for their furniture. They can do so because, as environmentalists are increasingly discovering, they benefit from large, cheap supplies of illegal timber imported from all over the world. Much of this timber comes from rare hardwood forests, which are being depleted by illegal logging. China has...

"We Don't Need Any Partners in Germany"

Carsten Knop March 4, 2005

Leveraging the Dragon: Toward "An Africa That Can Say No"

Chris Alden March 1, 2005
China is extending its economic influence to every corner of the world, and natural-resource-rich Africa is no exception. Between 2000 and 2003, China-Africa trade volume increased from US$10 billion to US$18 billion. However, some fear that this bilateral relationship is not built on equitable terms. According to economist Chris Alden, Africa's trade deficit with China has increased...

India's City of Contrasts May Really Need Two Names

Anand Giridharadas February 28, 2005
Ten years ago, in seeking to escape its colonial legacy, India's wealthiest state re-named its flagship city, and Bombay became Mumbai. To this day, however, there is still confusion over what to call the city; the Times of India writes "Mumbai" on front-page news, but calls its entertainment insert the Bombay Times. Increasingly – and much to the confusion of outsiders – the...

Don't Blame Wal-Mart

Robert B. Reich February 28, 2005
Multinational giant Wal-Mart is notorious for its anti-union stance and questionable labor practices. But, as Robert B. Reich opines, "Isn't Wal-Mart really being punished for our sins?" Reich suggests that US consumers, in their quest for bottom-dollar bargains, continue to shop at low-price retailers – thereby enabling their practices. In the competition to stay afloat,...