In The News

China and India: Same Globalization Road, Different Destinies

Scott B. MacDonald October 24, 2007
Some analysts suggest that China and India are on a path to perpetual cooperation. Both are populous Asian nations experiencing high rates of economic growth with more exposure to international market forces. However, diverging political and economic ambitions could drive the two powerhouses into increasing rivalry over markets, natural resources or strategic partners, suggests Scott MacDonald, a...

The Free-Trade Paradox

Moisés Naím October 19, 2007
The collapse last year of the Doha Round has had little apparent impact on global trade. Worldwide merchandise exports increased fivefold in the quarter century following 1980, and two thirds of the global reduction in tariff barriers may be attributed to unilateral decisions as opposed to regional or international trade agreements. Economic growth has spiraled skyward, thanks largely to...

Gale Warning, Global Burden Sharing

Joergen Oerstroem Moeller October 19, 2007
Global questions of political economy have traditionally revolved around sharing public goods or dealing with crises. Today, however, the world must decide how to distribute the costs of tremendous challenges that are looming over the horizon. Joergen Oerstroem Moeller, visiting senior research fellow with the Institute of Southeast Asian Study, anticipates the world to be buffeted by the...

Navigating the Choppy Waters of Globalization

Madelaine Drohan October 18, 2007
Headlines decrying a foreign takeover of large domestic-based businesses have been a common sight since the 1980s. However, as columnist Madelaine Drohan points out, these purchases happen all over the world, by independent companies from a diverse set of countries. She sees no hegemon struggling to rise to global economic domination through strategic purchasing, although the UK, the US and most...

Globalization With Arab Characteristics

Marcus Noland October 17, 2007
A young workforce can be a great economic asset. Yet Arab states, with booming populations, desperately need to increase employment opportunities for young adults. Foreign investment has stagnated, limited to oil and tourism as firms remain wary of weak intellectual property rights and uncertain political transitions. Meanwhile, state-dominated economies have failed to achieve linkages to outside...

Global Population: From Explosion to Implosion?

Koïchiro Matsuura October 15, 2007
The planet has some new patterns in population: Elders now outnumber the young, more people live in cities than in the country and more people live in nations where fertility rates fall below the replacement rate for population. But population continues to grow, and the increases predicted for later in this century will be a major historical event, with more than 9 billion people expected to...

India Getting on Board

Ernesto Zedillo October 15, 2007
India is a case study in how excessive government regulation, even with the best intentions, does little to eliminate poverty, according to Ernesto Zedillo, director of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization, in his column for Forbes. A heavy-handed approach – with strict limits on foreign trade, high tax rates and rigid rules for the labor market – disrupts both trade and innovation....