In The News

Outsourcing Your Life

Ellen Gamerman June 11, 2007
No longer just a trend for big businesses, outsourcing can also eliminate some pesky personal tasks: categorizing family photos, editing home videos, tutoring, preparing invitations, and design of anything from dresses to garden landscapes to websites. Businesses and individuals alike hunt for projects that can be accomplished over the internet and appropriate freelancers. But choosing the proper...

Lost In Translation

June 1, 2007
As part of an ongoing blame game between China and the US, Washington officials want reevaluation of the yuan. However, China actually could gain the most from any reevaluation. First, the yuan may not be undervalued all that much. China’s large bilateral trade surplus reflects a changing supply chain in Asia. The US used to buy goods from other Asian nations, but today China imports goods from...

Wolfowitz Saga Exposes Structural Flaws of the World Bank

Devesh Kapur May 15, 2007
Reactions to the conflict-of-interest allegations against Paul Wolfowitz, president of the World Bank, have been muted: Europe won’t criticize Wolfowitz much for fear of losing its monopoly over the IMF; countries that depend on World Bank funding may regard the scandal as leverage against strict expectations about corruption within their borders; and up-and-comers such as India and China seek...

Who's Your Big Brother? NAFTA, the EU, and International Trade and Development

May 7, 2007
Economic integration schemes have a powerful impact on growth in developing nations, reports Gerald McDermott, Lazlo Bruszt and Vanesa Sanchez in a paper “International Integration Regimes as Development Programs: A Comparison of EU and NAFTA Accession Processes” for Knowledge@Wharton, an online business publication of the University of Pennsylvania. Economic indicators suggest that European...

Stock Market Hiccups No Cause for Worry

Manu Bhaskaran April 5, 2007
Economists debate whether the financial interdependence of the modern world provides insulation against shocks or sets the stage for a chain reaction of woes. Every major power has its financial weak point – immense debt for the US; regional conflicts and poverty for India; and a lack of transparency for China combined with uncertainty over how communist leaders can control a population accruing...

Poor Nations to Bear Brunt as World Warms

Andrew C. Revkin April 2, 2007
Global warming is a form of aggression imposed by rich countries on the poor, according to the president of Uganda. Africa accounts for less than 3 percent of the carbon emissions that trap greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, leading to a steady increase in global temperatures, a rise in sea levels and a shift in precipitation from the equator toward the poles. Developing nations contributed more...

Capital Warfare

Heidi Crebo-Rediker March 29, 2007
If American policymakers hope to exercise influence in international affairs, they must recognize that US control wanes as more economic power spreads around the globe. The US can prepare accordingly by recognizing its own deficiencies – high debt, protectionist tendencies and overdependence on foreign oil – and instituting reform. States that are a prime source, destination and market for...