In The News

Greek Crisis and the Future of the European Union – Part II

Jean-Pierre Lehmann May 7, 2010
Internal divisions can endanger any union more than external threats. Mistrust – a lack of shared basic values or vision – can decimate cooperation, explains Jean-Pierre Lehmann, professor of political economy, in the second article of a two-part series analyzing the Greek debt crisis. Lehmann describes Greece’s immense debt load, the history of corruption, and their effect on the European Union...

Greek Crisis and the Future of the European Union – Part I

Jonathan Fenby May 5, 2010
Membership in the 16-nation euro zone was supposed to boost Europe’s wealth – but the debt crisis in Greece reveals how a weak link in the chain could also risk spreading misery. Deeming Greece, a nation of 10 million, “too big to fail,” EU members scramble to put together a bailout package. Meanwhile, Greeks take to the streets, burning EU flags and protesting austerity measures, with three...

Debt and Unemployment: Is Global Capitalism Responsible? – Part II

David Dapice April 26, 2010
In declaring an end to recession, economists fall into two camps: One side, including economists with the Obama administration, maintains high rates of unemployment are cyclical and jobs will return soon; others contend that the US economy confronts fundamental restructuring, with massive unemployment lingering for years. This two-part YaleGlobal series examines economic debates over debt and...

Debt and Unemployment: Is Global Capitalism Responsible? – Part I

Jeffrey E. Garten April 23, 2010
Global capital markets have been footloose and fancy free since the 1980s, boosted by rapid globalization in transportation, communication and technology industries. Prowling for profits, investors leap boundaries in an instant, manipulating growth, jobs and industries. In this series, two economists explore global capitalism’s growing reach that defies even the world’s greatest economic power....

A Greek Tragedy Haunts the World – Part II

Bruce Stokes March 3, 2010
The financial crisis in Greece is not only reverberating around Europe but is creating a difficult set of circumstances for the US, necessitating closer American involvement, according to journalist Bruce Stokes. The US has long supported European unity but the crisis is distracting Europeans from pressing concerns in Afghanistan and elsewhere, opening a new avenue for Russian meddling, and...

A Greek Tragedy Haunts the World – Part I

Jonathan Fenby March 1, 2010
The unfolding tragedy in Greece again demonstrates the interdependence of our integrated world – affecting countries near and far. In part I of this two part series, author Jonathan Fenby shows how Greece’s sorry state of affairs has thrown the European project into question. Indeed, Greece’s faltering has exposed some of the fundamental flaws in the EU’s conception. It could never be a true...

The World Economy Has No Easy Way Out Of the Mire

Martin Wolf February 24, 2010
Central banks around the world helped to avert disaster through significant monetary stimulus in the aftermath of the financial meltdown. This stimulus has also aided the rebound in financial markets since the lows of March 2009. But, Martin Wolf rightly asks, what will happen once that stimulus is removed? Or, in other words, will the exit strategy be successful? For Wolf, success would be a...