In The News

As Number One, China to Face Hour of Choice

Richard Bush June 30, 2011
China is on track to become the world’s largest economy, and the Chinese welcome the milestone, anticipating greater influence over world affairs. But economic size does not automatically translate into greater or less power and influence, warns Richard Bush, China expert with the Brookings Institution. He compares today’s rankings of economies – the US, China and Japan – with those existing in...

Emerging Economies Catching Up Faster Than You Might Think

Don Cayo May 24, 2011
Six emerging economies could account for half of all global economic growth by 2025. As a result, global wealth and power are shifting fast, concludes a World Bank report, and new financial structures and regulations could follow. The report, described by Don Cayo of the Vancouver Sun, points to trend for emerging economies: Trade has expanded among them and their share in trade has climbed to...

Is Growth Incomplete Without Social Progress?

Ejaz Ghani May 4, 2011
Poverty is concentrated in middle-income nations, explains Ejaz Ghani, World Bank economic advisor, writing for Project Syndicate. Poverty-reduction programs struggle to keep pace with population growth and rising wage inequality, though growth can ease the effects of income inequality. Income growth contributes to higher rates of education and literacy, yet poverty lingers in nations with...

The Arab Spring’s Chill Winds

April 27, 2011
The uprisings in the Arab world – especially in Libya – are slowing economic growth in Bangladesh. Remittances sent from the Arab world represent 12 percent of Bangladesh’s GDP. “Bangladesh depends on remittances from the Middle East more than any other large country,” explains this article in the Economist. Bangladesh, a severely impoverished nation of 156 million, is a parliamentary democracy....

BRICS Turns To Politics

Nayan Chanda April 26, 2011
An economist for a US investment bank developed the acronym BRIC a decade ago, lumping together the solid, fast-growing economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China and arguing the four would outpace the top six Western economies before 2050. The analysis resonated, fueling confidence among the hot emerging economies, which have since added South Africa to their ranks. The BRICS agenda is...

Africa and the Emerging South

Chris Alden April 15, 2011
The relationship between Africa and the so-called BRICS – Brazil, Russia, India, China and now South Africa – is rapidly changing the face of the continent. Chris Alden of the London School of Economics analyzes how growing trade ties shape Africa’s future. The original BRIC countries seek raw materials from Africa and undercut some local industries. Yet competition among BRICS, their investment...

BRICS Grapple with China Dominance in South-South Trade

Alan Wheatley April 13, 2011
Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa struggle to compete against once-poor China, now the world’s second largest economy. India ranks 4th, Russia 7th, Brazil 9th and South Africa about 20th in world GDP. Growing South-South commerce, which represents 17 percent of the global total versus 7 percent in 1990, is imbalanced, reports Alan Wheatley, global economics correspondent for Reuters. So far...