In The News

Stopping the Death Spiral

David Dapice May 26, 2009
US healthcare costs are nearly double that of other developed nations, and are without any attendant benefits: US life expectancy is no greater. Hence, the burden to the government and corporations is clear and reform is needed, according to economist David Dapice. That this burden is growing faster than inflation makes the need for a timely solution even more pressing. As uncontroversial as this...

Two Views on the Cause of the Global Crisis – Part II

Ashok Bardhan May 6, 2009
Lax regulation may have been the lever that pushed the world into the present financial crisis, but the fulcrum was the twin excesses of over-financialization and over-globalization, according to UC Berkeley economist Ashok Bardhan. In the case of over-financialization, financial asset bubbles rose to several times the global GDP, leading to an overheating of the economy. Meanwhile, over-...

Capitalism’s Future Lies in Networks and Cooperation

Farok Contractor April 20, 2009
In the past, adversarial competition and in-house design and production typified the climate and model for business success. Today, that climate has changed, according to management professor Farok Contractor. Cooperation and networks are the new tools for success in the global economy for a whole host of reasons. First, many projects are so large that one company cannot possibly shoulder the...

China Turns a Corner as Spending Takes Hold

Andrew Batson April 13, 2009
Recent data suggests that China’s economy may have bottomed: crude oil imports are up; steel mills are importing record amounts of iron ore; and the Shanghai Composite index is up over 32 percent year to date. It would appear Beijing’s stimulus program is having an effect. The fact that China remains partially a command economy has allowed the stimulus program to take effect more quickly...

The G-20’s Uncertain Roadmap

Jonathan Fenby April 8, 2009
The recent G-20 summit was significant not only as a representation of how globalized the world has become – China, India, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and other developing countries sat down with the US, the EU, and Japan – but also that there was sufficient agreement to plan a further meeting. But, as journalist and author Jonathan Fenby argues, the dire strait of the world economy needs short term...

The Real Summit has been Between China and the US

Hamish McRae April 2, 2009
Posturing and theatrics aside, the most discussed issues of the G-20 summit – tax havens, financial regulation, or the IMF’s voting powers – are of marginal importance at best. The crying need of the hour is to ensure that the current financial crisis does not worsen: a difficult task given that governments so far have tended to exacerbate, rather than solve, recessions. This means governments...

China Rises Again – Part I

Wang Gungwu March 25, 2009
In China’s long history, its leaders have managed other rises in power and preeminence, but the current rise confronts them with a different set of challenges on a global scale. This two-part series reflects on how China handles its rise and responds to other global powers. In the first article of the series, leading historian of China’s foreign relations, Wang Gungwu, details the considerations...