In The News

A Development Nightmare

Kenneth Rogoff February 16, 2004
As much as wealthier nations purport to want to make the world's economy more equitable, Kenneth Rogoff, the director of the Center for International Development at Harvard University, argues that this is an unsustainable dream. The standard of living enjoyed by most Americans would destroy the environment, raise gas prices to outrageous levels, and generally wreck havoc on limited...

Voices of Mumbai

Ian Douglas February 6, 2004
Since the World Social Forum (WSF) began four years ago it has sought to address the myriad issues which the World Economic Forum fails to take into account. Concerns encompass the negative effects of globalization, human rights, environmental degradation, international peace, disenfranchisement, and international law. With such a range of issues, a consensus as to what is most pressing is...

Earthquake Narrows US-Iran Rift

Roshanak Taghavi January 30, 2004
A devastating earthquake in the city of Bam, Iran, may help to bring the United States and Iran closer together. Washington's offer to provide humanitarian aid to help over 40,000 quake victims marks the first open cooperation between the US and Iran in a quarter-century. According to this article in Egypt's Al-Ahram Weekly, however, Iran is skeptical about pursuing warmer relations in...

A False Alarm: Overcoming Globalization's Discontents

Richard N. Cooper January 29, 2004
Jagdish Baghwati believes that globalization is unambiguously a positive phenomenon and aims to prove it in his recent book, "In Defense of Globalization." According to this review, Baghwati's book also aims to enlighten globalization's critics. Baghwati tackles two major criticisms of globalization: that it causes poverty, and that it depresses wages. He cites data that...

Cuba Ailing? Not Its Biomedical Industry

Tom Fawthrop January 26, 2004
One does not frequently hear of Cuba when discussing today's integrating global economy. Cuba appears isolated, politically and economically, mainly due to trade restrictions placed on it by the US in the 1960's. No wonder, says the author of this Straits Times article, the world is surprised to learn of Cuba's flourishing biotech industry which has contributed much to the field of...

Africa's Potemkin Deception

Michael Holman January 19, 2004
Just as the Russian Prince Potemkin once created mock villages in the Ukraine and the Crimea to convince Catherine the Great of her empire’s health, so may the continent’s modern benefactors be deluding themselves and the world about its progress, argues Michael Holman, former Africa editor of the Financial Times. Sub-Saharan Africa remains mired in poverty, disease, and debt, yet manufactured...

Follow the Leader on Iraqi Debt

Timothy W. Guinnane January 15, 2004
In trying to rebuild a shattered Iraq, Washington is asking other governments to reduce or restructure debts owed them by the war-torn country. With over $120 billion at stake, this is not a small request. Still, debt reduction is an important goal, says Yale economic historian Timothy W. Guinnane. As in post-WWII Germany, he writes, debt reduction could facilitate Iraq's economic rebirth...