In The News

“Playing Baseball Without a Bat”

Thomas. L. Friedman November 9, 2011
In an interview with YaleGlobal editor Nayan Chanda, Thomas. L. Friedman talks about his book "That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back," co-written with Michael Mandelbaum. He explains the reasons for the slow decline of the United States, especially its failure to adapt to the hyper-connected world it helped to create, four...

The Popular Mandate

Nayan Chanda November 8, 2011
A suggestion by the Greek prime minister for a referendum on a proposed European bailout – negotiated by European leaders to continue lending to Greece while erasing half the nation’s debt –was bashed by financial markets and Western leaders. Analysts anticipated an angry Greek electorate to reject the deal, and the prime minister backed down. "Athens offers a valuable lesson in...

The Globalization of Protest

Joseph E. Stiglitz November 8, 2011
A protest movement against corporate power, inequality and governments that do not serve citizens has gone global. From the Arab Spring protests that began in Tunisia to the Occupy Wall Street movement in New York, protesters question if the interests of a few trump the overall common good, explains Joseph E. Stiglitz in an essay for Project Syndicate. Stiglitz notes that “around the world,...

Denying Imbalances, G20 Risks Chaos – Part II

David Dapice November 7, 2011
Once again, the leaders of the world’s most powerful economies have procrastinated in coming together on a viable global strategy to end unsustainable imbalances. Overshadowing the G20 summit was the threat of a disorderly Greek default; the Greek government’s scrambled response; and rising bond prices and trouble for Italy’s debt. Eurozone leaders agreed to set up a rescue fund of at least $1...

Denying Imbalances, G20 Risks Chaos – Part I

Shen Dingli November 4, 2011
After the Asian financial crisis in 1997-98, a group of developed and emerging economies came together as the G20 to stabilize global financial markets. With widening imbalances caused by huge trade surpluses on the part of some nations while others drown in debt, the global economy is perilously close to chaos. Now the eurozone – specifically and immediately, Greece and Italy – is in danger of...

Greeks Seek to Escape Debt Crisis Abroad

Ingrid Melander November 3, 2011
Governments that dawdle in resolving economic crisis – or impose unfair taxes or cuts – could lose their smartest, most skilled citizens. As Greece’s debt crisis rocks the European Union, thousands of young and skilled workers are emigrating, reports Ingrid Melander for Reuters. Nonprofit aid organizations for the Greek diaspora are swamped with aid requests, she adds. Greeks are furious about...

Europe Sneezes, India Catches a Cold

Nayan Chanda November 2, 2011
Cooperation could prevent contagion stemming from the Greek debt crisis, explains Nayan Chanda, YaleGlobal’s editor, in a column for the Times of India. The 17 members of the eurozone shared a monetary policy without common fiscal regulation. Reckless borrowing ensued. A negotiated bailout requires setting up a $1.4 trillion rescue fund along with reforms. So far, Greece and Italy resist...