In The News

Global Crisis: How Far to Go? Part I

Branko Milanovic October 8, 2008
Gripped with mistrust, uncertain about the value of assets like real estate and company stocks, global banks and investors are reluctant to lend and instead cling to cash. This three-part YaleGlobal series examines the implications of the crisis for different parts of the globe. In the first article of the series, economist Branko Milanovic points out what’s most unnerving about the credit crisis...

Today's Capitalism Has Run Its Course

Bashir Goth October 7, 2008
As with politics, extremist and rigid economic policies cannot be sustained. As investor trust wanes and a credit crunch grips the globe, critics lash out. But extremist responses, pure capitalism or pure socialism, are inappropriate, suggests Bashir Goth writing for PostGlobal, moderated by Fareed Zakaria of Newsweek and David Ignatius of the Washington Post. “Just like we need and preach...

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...

The Virus of Greed

Nayan Chanda October 1, 2008
Global commerce depends on an odd combination of desires, the pursuit of profits and a need to please diverse customers. “The search for ever higher returns has driven traders and financiers ever since humans have learned to exchange goods or sought to grow their wealth through investments,” explains Nayan Chanda, editor of YaleGlobal in his regular column for Businessworld. Financiers on Wall...

Can Asia Rescue the Global Economy?

Linda Lim September 29, 2008
During the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, US financial experts lectured Asians to accept good governance, transparency and free-market outcomes while avoiding drastic government intervention. Asian nations indeed tightened their belts, saving funds and seeking out safe havens for funds, including US Treasury bills. “This inflow of foreign lending conveniently enabled the Bush administration to...

Paulson’s Plan Was Not a True Solution to the Crisis

Martin Wolf September 24, 2008
World creditors came to a sudden conclusion – that US deficit spending at the household and government levels is highly dangerous and unsustainable – and as a result hang on tight to any money they hold. Spending and lending has slowed drastically. Major institutions – lending agencies, investment banks, insurance firms – have come close to folding, and the Bush administration has reversed all...

Scrambling to Clean Up After a Category 4 Financial Storm

Steven Pearlstein September 24, 2008
The global economy is in crisis, with giant financial institutions folding, banks refusing to lend to other banks and some countries closing, changing stock-market rules and currencies dropping in value. “What we are witnessing may be the greatest destruction of financial wealth that the world has ever seen – paper losses measured in the trillions of dollars,” writes Steven Pearlstein for the...