In The News

Economists on the Refugee Path

Robert J. Shiller January 25, 2016
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was created in 1950 as a temporary measure to aid an estimated 40 million refugees after World War II. “But the problem never went away,” explains Robert J. Shiller, Yale professor of economics in an essay for Project Syndicate. The UNHCR reports near 60 million “forcibly displaced” people, including 20 million internationally displaced. As...

Worries Over China’s Slowdown Drive Global Markets

Farok J. Contractor January 21, 2016
Global markets are plummeting, in part a response to slowing growth in China and volatility in the nation’s stock markets. “World markets turn needlessly bearish – failing to understand that the Shanghai or Shenzhen markets are not necessarily good indicators of the fundamentals of the Chinese economy or cultural root causes driving Chinese investors,” writes Farok Contractor, a professor at...

The New Geo-Economics

Joseph E. Stiglitz January 11, 2016
Global economic growth, offering connections and solutions that have enriched many and lifted more out of poverty, has slowed in recent months. Economist Joseph Stiglitz compares the processes in negotiating two agreements – the global climate agreement approved in Paris and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, yet to be ratified, a trade agreement among 12 nations including the United States, but not...

Irredeemable?

January 8, 2016
By the end of 2016, Brazil’s economy may be 8 percent smaller than it was during the first quarter of 2014, reports the Economist. Commodity prices are slumping, and GDP could shrink by a fifth. Some call for the president’s impeachment; legislators are under investigation for accepting bribes related to contracts with the state-controlled oil-and-gas company, Petrobras. The Economist describes...

The 5 Key Trends in Globalization That Are Changing the US and the World

Edward Goldberg December 23, 2015
Events in one country or one industry can have repercussions that spread throughout the world. Edward Goldberg, a professor who teaches about globalization, identifies five trends for the Huffington Post: China’s economy is slowing, and the government will likely adjust, eliminating inefficient state-owned companies and accepting citizens’ need to adapt to rising unemployment through...

Despite Their Economic Strides, China and India Lag on Health Care

Zeena Johar and Xue Ying Hwang December 17, 2015
Adequate health care, providing security for a nation’s workforce, is among the key attributes of economic development. “India and China have adopted insurance as a tool to provide health-care access and mitigate catastrophic expenditures,” explain Zeena Johar and Xue Ying Hwang, adding that each nation has adopted an independent route towards achieving universal health coverage. “Despite good...

China’s New Economic Plan Tackles the Rebalancing Puzzle

Stephen S. Roach November 10, 2015
Early reports on China’s Five-Year Plan outlining the government’s strategic priorities for 2016 to 2020 indicate preparations for slowed yet more sustainable economic growth. The plan involves ongoing transition toward an economy that promotes service industries, private consumption, innovation and entrepreneurship. The plan endorses a diversified economy, emphasizing quality rather than...