In The News

Worries About the World Economy for 2014

David Dapice December 20, 2013
Uncertainty and uneasy interdependence characterize a 2014 forecast on global economic growth. High rates of unemployment persist in developed economies while emerging economies rely on those nations for exports and jobs for their own citizens. The International Monetary Fund forecasts 3.5 percent growth for 2014 – or less – and economist David Dapice analyzes factors that could hamper that...

America’s Role as Consumer of Last Resort Goes Missing

Simon Kennedy December 16, 2013
Household final consumption represents about 70 percent of US gross domestic product, yet “Cheaper fuel and raw materials are boosting manufacturing, making the U.S. more of a competitor to emerging-markets nations and less a reliable consumer of their goods,” reports Simon Kennedy for Bloomberg. The US recorded its lowest current-account deficit since 1999, assisted by new supplies of domestic...

Bali Boost: WTO Lives, Snatched for Now From Jaws of Defeat

Jean-Pierre Lehmann December 10, 2013
A round of congratulations is in order for the WTO, after agreement in Bali on a package that promises a spirit of global cooperation and level playing field for developing nations, particularly in agriculture, commodities and labor-intensive manufactured goods. But the agreement is essentially a package of promises. Ultimate success requires leadership and vision, warns Jean-Pierre Lehmann,...

The Great Skill Recession

Nayan Chanda December 2, 2013
The world has an unemployment problem. Most modern jobs require technological skills, and technology is supplanting increasing numbers of jobs. How this gap, first raised as a possibility by John Maynard Keynes in 1930, is addressed will shape the economic future of the United States, China, India and other nations, explains Nayan Chanda, YaleGlobal editor, in his column for Businessworld....

A Dangerous Interregnum

Roger Cohen November 29, 2013
The 9/11 attacks, followed by long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, have left the United States exhausted, which has transformed its approach to the globe. New York Times columnist Roger Cohen cites political theorist Antonio Gramsci who suggested that transitions, during which old ways resist new approaches, can magnify crisis. The United States, and other nations, too, have taken an “inward turn...

How Globalization Has Left the 1 Percent Further Ahead

Tavia Grant, Janet McFarland November 28, 2013
Canada is not alone with a widening income divide – a few making great gains while the vast majority struggles with stagnant wages. Analysis from the Globe and Mail points to globalization as the reason. US competition may pressure wages, and the skilled with global appeal are paid more than those with local appeal. “The top 1 per cent of earners [has] seen growing demand for their specialized...

Iran Approaches a “Gorbachev Moment”

Robert A. Manning November 26, 2013
The United States and Iran have reached a historic interim accord that would limit sanctons and Iranian nuclear enrichment, subject to IAEA inspections. Iran confronts a transformative moment, explains Robert A. Manning of the Brent Snowcroft Center for International Security at the Atlantic Council. Western sanctions have contributed to high inflation, unemployment and other economic woes for...