In The News

How to Capitalize the Banks and Save Finance

George Soros October 13, 2008
The US quickly approved devoting at least $700 billion to rescue the nation’s financial system. The steps for recapitalizing banks must be well structured and highly transparent, suggests financier and philanthropist George Soros in the Financial Times. Soros offers specific recommendations: ordering bank supervisors to estimate how much capital is needed to meet required levels and reveal plans...

Globalizing the Crisis Response

C. Fred Bergsten October 13, 2008
Regulation of finance has long been a responsibility for nations, but with the current global crisis, governments quickly learned they cannot escape a global credit freeze. Banks struggle to survive, some nations are already in recession and developing countries can anticipate reduced exports and problems ahead. The global nature of the crisis calls out for a global response, argue C. Fred...

Global Crisis: How Far to Go? Part III

Scott B. MacDonald October 13, 2008
As profits surge, financial players eschew government intervention, but crave rescue as problems emerge. Public confidence in banks around the globe could make a cautious comeback, after the UK-led massive semi-nationalization of banks with "equity injection." This YaleGlobal series explores the global financial crisis, detailing how US troubles over mortgage-backed securities and the...

Global Crisis: How Far to Go? Part II

Manu Bhaskaran October 10, 2008
Speed of transportation and communication that characterize today’s global supply chain requires trust and flow of credit along the many steps: But now consumers worry about the future of their jobs, retailers and manufacturers worry about sales, suppliers worry about orders and lenders clutch to their reserves of cash. In the second article of the YaleGlobal series addressing the repercussions...

The World's Most Utterly Failed State

October 10, 2008
Piracy is one of the oldest legacies of globalization; as goods are traded among increasingly connected peoples, others carve their place in the global economy by disrupting trade and stealing what they can on the high seas. Since the end of its "Golden Age" in the 1800s, piracy has taken on a largely nostalgic role in pop culture and travel attractions in the West, but remains a...

Development Doesn't Require Big Government

William Easterly October 9, 2008
Pain from the US financial crisis is spreading globally, with leadership in developing countries often blaming free-market failures. The free market is under attack worldwide: Honduras’s president deems its laws "demonic" and the Brazilian head of state suggests its speculation causes the "anguish of entire peoples." Economist and author William Easterly traces this strong...

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...