In The News

Pink Floyd's Money Travels Long Way to Mongolia

William Pesek October 6, 2008
Natural resources can be a boon to a nation's economy – just ask landlocked Botswana, which enjoyed tremendous growth, thanks to its diamond deposits. However, abundant minerals, gas, and oil can hinder a country's economic progress, if governments over-invest in such booming industries at the expense of building manufacturing or agricultural sectors. Without a diversified, bustling...

Generation Faithful

Michael Slackman October 6, 2008
The city of Dubai is has been in a storm of transformation in recent years, going from oil- and gas-based growth to a real estate, trade and financial hub in the Middle East, meshing a population consisting of 80 percent emigrants from more than 200 ethnicities. Such tremendous growth and diversity have led to a "socially freewheeling yet unmistakably Muslim state" that raises...

Aid Is Good, Business Is Better

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Nicky Oppenheimer September 1, 2008
Africa lags behind other continents on most indicators of development, largely because the cost of doing business is too high, suggest the president of Liberia and the chairman of De Beers, writing an opinion essay together for the International Herald Tribune. Record amounts of aid flow to the continent, but countries should regard that aid as temporary and enact reforms to spur sustainable...

China’s Rumble With Globalization – Part II

Jonathan Fenby July 24, 2008
Despite a turbulent history, China has enjoyed two decades of growth and self-confidence, boosted by diplomatic and business engagement with the rest of the globe. But China has only entered “the first generation of China's globalization,” described by Jonathan Fenby in this second article of a two-part series. Now entering its “second generation of globalization,” the world’s most populous...

Once a Bright Point, Senegal Teeters Toward a Crisis

Lydia Polgreen June 20, 2008
Historically, Senegal has been one of Africa’s more prosperous and stable nations, winning respect and admiration. Ironically, though, the country's recent investments in five-star hotels and conference centers have backfired. Luxury development is a slap in the face for the poor who struggle daily to survive. Civil groups resist government plans and accuse political leaders of nepotism and...

Grand Designs Should Look to the Future

Chandran Nair May 28, 2008
Governments can spend today’s wealth on today’s luxuries or invest to ensure the comforts of tomorrow. The United Arab Emirates, rich with oil wealth, continues to invest in novel construction, including a sail-shaped hotel, an underwater hotel and a ski resort – all with the help of foreign designers and architects. But with fast-paced economic growth and per-capita carbon dioxide emissions...

In India, Death to Global Business

Manjeet Kripalani May 10, 2008
Insurgents attacked an iron-ore processing plant in India, setting equipment, buses and trucks on fire – and warned the officials in Chhattisgarh to stop shipping local resources out of state. The Naxalites, who abide by a Maoist philosophy and resent ownership and capitalism, resort to violence to disrupt state and corporate activities. The movement began in one village in 1967 and since spread...