In The News

Outsourcing, Turned Inside Out

Ken Belson April 11, 2004
While most Americans today have heard about and many already been alarmed by the outsourcing of jobs overseas, some others might not be as worried; those include the employees of South Korean semiconductor company Samsung in Austin, Texas. The company just announced that it would pump another $500 into its Texas plant, adding an additional 300 jobs to its 700-people workforce. Samsung is not...

US Recovery, Asian Surge Will Boost World Trade 7.5%: WTO

Ravi Kanth April 6, 2004
The US economic recovery and Asian trade growth should push global trade higher this year, according to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Yet such growth is susceptible to three risk factors: the level of the US current account and budget deficits; the extent of European economic growth and the value of the Euro; and the volatility of oil prices. With the US current account deficit set to reach...

World Trade Growth Picks Up Speed

April 5, 2004
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is reporting a 4.5 percent increase in trade in 2003, up 1.5 percent from their original cautious estimate. The gains are due, analysts say, to the partial recovery of the American economy and very strong growth in Asia and the post-Soviet states. China alone saw a 40% increase in merchandise imports and a 35% increase in exports. Numbers for 2004 are looking...

US Recovery, Asian Surge Will Boost World Trade 7.5%: WTO

Ravi Kanth April 4, 2004
The US economic recovery and Asian trade growth should push global trade higher this year, according to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Yet such growth is susceptible to three risk factors: the level of the US current account and budget deficits; the extent of European economic growth and the value of the Euro; and the volatility of oil prices. With the US current account deficit set to reach...

A Normal Country

Andrei Shleifer March 30, 2004
In this Foreign Affairs’ essay, Andrei Shleifer and Daniel Treisman argue that the popular image in the west of Russia as a “disastrous failure” needs to be rethought. General belief holds that Russia has failed to leave its communist past behind, and as a result, has transformed itself into “a collapsed state inhabited by criminals threatening other countries with multiple contagions.” Contrary...

Stop Intervening: Greenspan

March 4, 2004
In what many consider an unusual display of criticism, US Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan claimed that Japan's currency market interventions – aimed at preventing the yen from falling against the dollar – will no longer be sustainable. The accumulation of dollar reserves must eventually end, he said, and argued that Japanese intervention has kept the dollar higher than it...

Argentina Stuck on the Periphery of a Globalized World

Jean-Pierre Lehmann February 20, 2004
Although once renowned for its prosperity and rich culture, Argentina has seen its fortunes decline as it suffered authoritarian rulers throughout the 20th century. Democratic strides in the 1980s and 1990s did not bring success, either - the "liberal" leaders of those two decades implemented free-market policies that many blame for Argentina's current economic woes. Yet...