In The News

Russian Demographics: The Perfect Storm

Joseph Chamie and Barry Mirkin December 11, 2014
One measure of an economically secure homeland is women’s willingness to raise children with the expectation of opportunities for good health, education and livelihoods. On that front, Russia confronts a perfect storm – as fertility rates plummeted to 1.2 births per women in the late 1990s and now stand at 1.7 births per women. “Russia’s population will most likely decline in the coming decades,...

Afro-Optimism: Has the Pendulum Swung Too Far?

Raila Odinga December 2, 2014
Development and economic growth in Africa offer great potential, yet poverty, conflict, preventable infectious disease and other challenges remain. Leaders cannot rest easy, warns Raila Odinga, former prime minister of Kenya in an article based on his remarks during the Annual Coca-Cola World Fund Lecture at Yale University, October 9, 2014. Odinga reviews Africa’s many accomplishments over the...

Population Controls Will Not Solve Environment Issues

Matt McGrath October 31, 2014
Tight population controls alone won’t make the world a sustainable place in the short term, suggests research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The damage has been done with the population climbing from 1 billion in 1800 to 7 billion now. Projections suggest the world’s population will jump to 12 billion by the end of this century; even with a global one-child...

Thailand’s Ultra-Monarchists Export Vigilante Justice

Michael Peel September 3, 2014
The rise of ultra-monarchism and harsh penalties for speaking against the monarchy in Thailand are heightening political conflict and tension throughout the diaspora. “Part-absurd, part chilling, the case highlights how the ever harsher application in Thailand of lèse-majesté laws protecting the frail 86-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej is spilling across continents in uncontrolled and...

Italy and Japan: Troubled Twins of Globalization

Joji Sakurai August 26, 2014
Japan and Italy are major economies, ranked third and ninth in the world, respectively. Yet both have slipped in recent years, a result of insular policies that in turn encourage provincialism. The cultures offer beautiful and unusual elements that draw admiration from around the world. Ironically, challenges emerge as each are obsessed with preserving and perfecting traditions. “Japan and Italy...

World Will Have 13 “Super-Aged” Nations by 2020

Sarah O’Connor August 11, 2014
The world now has three nations with high proportions of elderly people – Germany, Italy and Japan. Joining that group before 2030: China, Netherlands, France, Sweden, Portugal, Slovenia, Croatia, Hong Kong, Korea, the US, the UK, New Zealand and other nations. “The ‘unprecedented pace’ of population ageing would slow annual global economic growth by 0.4 per cent over the next five years and by...

Wakeup Call for Europe

Philippe Legrain August 5, 2014
Europe has squandered its potential with crushing debt, declining living standards, high unemployment and little innovation. “Europe isn’t just falling further behind the United States; it also faces ever-greater competition from China, India, Brazil, Mexico, Turkey, Korea and other emerging economies – not just in lower-end manufacturing but also in higher-tech sectors,” writes economist...