In The News

Bush, in Africa, Promises Aid but Offers No Troops for Liberia

Richard W. Stevenson July 9, 2003
As his first trip to Africa commences, US President Bush is promising to promote democracy, fight AIDS, and increase trade with the continent, but he is offering no immediate assistance in the current bloodbath in Liberia. This reluctance to commit troops to the war torn country belies the emphasis Bush will be placing on the problems plaguing failing states like Liberia over the course of his...

African Pundits Heckle Bush for ‘Safari’

Jefferson Morley July 8, 2003
Africa’s online media has been attacking US President Bush’s agenda even before his five-day trip around the continent got under way.. Journalists in each of the countries he is visiting – as well as in some that he’s not – doubt Bush’s sincerity and motivations vocally or tacitly. Concern over American hegemony figured prominently in the South African and Zambian press, which maintained Bush...

The Homes of Argentines Are at Risk in I.M.F. Talks

Larry Rohter June 23, 2003
In an echo of the harsh economic policies prescribed by the IMF in Southeast Asia after the 1997 Asian Crisis the organization is asking the crisis-ridden Argentina to adopt severe belt-tightening measures. For homeowners across Argentina, the prescribed cure for financial crisis may prove more devastating than the economic disease. In a country still reeling from months of economic chaos, the...

Unreformed, Unrefined, Unrepentant

June 20, 2003
The 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis seriously disrupted many economies in the Asia-Pacific region and impeded global economic growth. Governments and international institutions have since tried to draw lessons from that nightmare. In this article in The Economist, the author says that there is still much to be learned and dealt with, including Thailand's current problems with its taxation...

A More Just Fair Trade Is Needed

H. A. Harry Hendrarto May 14, 2003
The World Fair Trade Day on May 17 highlights sustainable development and the connections between economic production and the environment globally. Free trade has benefited the developed world and contributed to increasing poverty in the developing world, says the author of this article. Countries in Europe and North America have the greatest share of revenues from free trade. International...

Junior Coalition Partners Seek Pay-Back

Richard McGregor April 21, 2003
Australia and Poland put troops on the ground in the war in Iraq and now await compensation for their efforts. Although Australia must play down its participation for fear of offending Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation, benefits are already being recognized: a free-trade deal with the US is on the table, and one of its agriculture officials is already a member of the post-war...

Latin America's Explosive Debt

Hilton L. Root December 19, 2002
The spiraling economic woes of Argentina, Brazil, and other Latin American countries virtually fill the headlines every few months. What can governments in the region do to reverse negative trends and move their economies back to an era of growth and prosperity? Many people in Latin America blame open-market economic policies for their dilemma, and many politicians looking to win on election...