In The News

Coal Politics in an Unequal World

Sunita Narain April 22, 2014
Energy is big business, and coal is behind about 40 percent of the global electricity production and 65 percent of Indian power. Developed nations like the United States and Australia are among major coal producers and exporters. Yet political leaders and NGOs in those nations harangue emerging economies like India to reduce emissions. Efforts to stigmatize coal have been successful, argues...

The US Economy Grows, But Jobs Don’t

Ashok Bardhan March 13, 2014
The US economy is growing, but employment is not keeping pace. A reliable supply of natural gas and dropping prices, high-tech manufacturing, and big-data analysis offer economic promise. Technology of all kinds contributes to efficiency and productivity. Firms consider returning facilities in the United States – a trend that has been named in-shoring or re-shoring. Growth is losing speed in...

Russian Markets Plunge as Putin Tightens Crimea Grip

Lidia Kelly and Alissa de Carbonnel March 4, 2014
Ukraine, deep in debt and geographically located between Poland and Russia, is divided over pursuing closer ties with Europe or Russia. After months of non-violent protests, the Ukrainian president accused of corruption and mismanagement unleashed a harsh response and then left for Russia. The parliament quickly installed a new government, and Russian forces moved into the Crimea, an area with...

Venezuela Unrest Shakes Up Opposition

Andrew Cawthorne and Diego Ore February 28, 2014
Protesters and opposition candidates blast Venezuela for problems listed by the US Central Intelligence Agency: “a weakening of democratic institutions, political polarization, a politicized military, rampant violent crime, overdependence on the petroleum industry with its price fluctuations, and irresponsible mining operations that are endangering the rain forest and indigenous peoples.” Reuters...

America's Energy Edge

Robert D. Blackwill and Meghan L. O'Sullivan February 26, 2014
Discoveries of shale energy throughout the Americas and beyond will upend geopolitics. “The fracking revolution required more than just favorable geology; it also took financiers with a tolerance for risk, a property-rights regime that let landowners claim underground resources, a network of service providers and delivery infrastructure, and an industry structure characterized by thousands of...

China Moves to End Its Codependency with US

Stephen S. Roach February 18, 2014
Global analysts fret about the resilience of emerging markets, including China’s. Yet economic managers in China know what needs to be done, already taking steps to rebalance, shifting from dependence on manufacturing and exports towards more services and consumer spending. The world is not prepared for the necessary slowdown in growth from China as its leaders focus on domestic spending,...

Growth and Globalization Cannot Cure All the World’s Ills

Gideon Rachman January 30, 2014
Global leaders and elites, such as those who gathered for the World Economic Forum in Davos, regard economic growth via globalization as the prescription for difficulty or political conflict, suggests Gideon Rachman for the Financial Times. But economic growth, globalization and capitalism do not necessarily curtail inequality, instability, environmental degradation, nationalist rivalries, jihad...