In The News

US Voters Mull the Economy

Bruce Stokes September 6, 2012
The global economy has a stake in the US presidential campaign. Top issues so far are economic: jobs, debt reduction and protecting the safety net for the nation’s elderly, otherwise known as Social Security and Medicare, amid rising costs. US voters want the economy fixed, but resist the sacrifices required for long-term solutions. In polls, 80 percent of Americans have expressed dissatisfaction...

US Economy – Muscular or Obese?

David Dapice August 16, 2012
The US, with great potential for economic growth, still could rescue the dragging global economy – the country’s energy development, agricultural output, steady labor force, and education programs all offer promise. But the US has immediate challenges, argues economist David Dapice, including rising inequality and high youth unemployment rates. Young workers often bring innovations to workplaces...

Global Rebalancing: Now or Never

Stephen S. Roach July 19, 2012
Recent history – the Latin America debt crisis, the US subprime mortgage crisis and now the European debt crisis – offers a lesson that global imbalances are unsustainable. Lured by false promises of future growth, countries borrow big, risking prosperity and stability. Global growth is in question: Wary of debt, US consumers have tightened spending; India and China, as emerging economies, cannot...

Eurozone Heaves Sigh of Relief – For How Long?

Jean-Pierre Lehmann July 3, 2012
The European Union’s heads of state avoided disaster for the time being, preventing impending collapse of Spanish banks and offering assistance to Italy, too. Europe has decided to move toward a more complete integration. The steps are cautious, but “the USE – United States of Europe – would seem to be the ultimate destination, in fact if not in name,” explains Jean-Pierre Lehmann. Yet nobody...

Could Europe Ruin the World Economy?

David Dapice June 19, 2012
Greek voters in parliamentary elections narrowly approved staying with the euro, but the debt crisis is far from over. Winning about 30 percent of the vote, the conservative leaders of New Democracy must build a coalition government and fend off a sizable opposition that resists austerity that was imposed as part of the bailout. Italy and Spain, heavily indebted, also test the eurozone’s...

What’s Next for Europe?

Alistair Burnett May 23, 2012
Politicians in power since the 2008 financial collapse, regardless of their political stripes, find themselves in peril. Analysis of the recent French and Greek elections followed three lines of thought – that voters soundly rejected strict austerity measures, blamed incumbents, and abandoned mainstream political parties for more extremist leadership, both right and left. The three...

A Global Economy in Danger

Manu Bhaskaran May 21, 2012
The week’s global consultations are in order – a G20 Labor and Employment Ministerial Meeting convened in Mexico on employment policies; the G8 reached consensus on eurozone reforms at Camp David; NATO meets in Chicago to prepare for withdrawal from Afghanistan. The globe’s major economies are interconnected in so many ways, and the separate set of difficulties of each threatens ability to...