In The News

Economic Crisis Could Push Reform in China

Zhiwu Chen November 12, 2008
Economic crisis can be a time of opportunity, particularly if political leaders are savvy enough to use the down period to introduce needed reforms. Zhiwu Chen, finance professor with the Yale School Management, offers such a blueprint for China. An economic stimulus package announced this week by the Chinese government, aimed at building infrastructure, is only a first step. Chen also urges the...

Save Doha to Save the G20 Summit

Ernesto Zedillo November 12, 2008
Political leaders will gather for a G20 summit to address global economic governance. The summit could also be an opportunity “to exorcise the demons of protectionism,” suggests Ernesto Zedillo, director of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization. Finding agreement on the Doha Round of trade talks, debated for seven years, would send a powerful signal for endorsing open trade. Zedillo...

Lump Together and Like It

November 10, 2008
The statistics on urbanization worldwide are startling – in the past 30 years alone, urban populations have gone from 1.6 to 3.3 billion people, while the next 30 years project additional growth of 2 billion people. The scale and speed of urbanization today is unprecedented in history, with projections of 2 billion slum-dwellers in 2030. Developing countries like Egypt, with more than 18 million...

Evicted from Coastal Homes

Dave Bull November 10, 2008
Spain’s 1988 "Ley de la costa," forbids homes within 550 yards of the coast, and the government is taking action to enforce the law. Owners may get leases, up to 60 years, to use the property, but can’t resell. Some analysts suggest the government is less forceful with developers and owners of commercial properties. Up to 500,000 homes are threatened, and complicating matters is many...

The World Looks to Obama – Part II

Mary Kay Magistad November 7, 2008
For nations around the globe, the US plays various roles – trendsetter, shopper, policeman, inventor and more. For China, the US, as the largest market for Chinese exports, is a valued customer. This YaleGlobal series examines world reactions to Barack Obama’s victory and his likely approach to critical foreign policy issues. In the second article of the series, journalist Mary Kay Magistad...

A Need to Master the Tyranny of the Urgent

Strobe Talbott November 7, 2008
The number of issues awaiting President-elect Barack Obama and his administration lengthens as storm clouds of recession form worldwide. Obama and his team have stressed that quick fixes won't magically erase the many financial problems. Strobe Talbott, former deputy secretary of state under President Clinton, would agree with the Obama camp's cautionary tone, while also stressing that...

How 6 Parts Nearly Delayed World's Biggest Airliner

Chana Joffe-Walt November 6, 2008
Manufacturing can’t always keep pace with new products and ideas, and that is the case for some giant ball bearings, a needed part for major aircraft as well as wind turbines, reports Chana Joffe-Walt for National Public Radio. After calling his supplier in Germany, a US engineer working on the Airbus A380 was surprised to learn that delivery of the custom ball bearings would take 18 months and...