In The News

A Development Nightmare

Kenneth Rogoff February 16, 2004
As much as wealthier nations purport to want to make the world's economy more equitable, Kenneth Rogoff, the director of the Center for International Development at Harvard University, argues that this is an unsustainable dream. The standard of living enjoyed by most Americans would destroy the environment, raise gas prices to outrageous levels, and generally wreck havoc on limited...

Indonesia Urges Global Boycott on Malaysian Timber

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja February 13, 2004
Although Malaysia and Indonesia acknowledge illegal trade of the rare ramin wood from Indonesia to Malaysia, both countries refuse to take responsibility. Malaysia claims the "onus is on Indonesia to upgrade their laws" to prevent smugglers from chopping rare trees; Indonesia accuses Kuala Lumpur of tacitly consenting to the importation of illegal wood. Meanwhile, Indonesia has called...

Asian Central Banks Consider Alternatives to Big Dollar Holdings

Phillip Day February 5, 2004
South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, China and Japan say they plan to shift out of US treasuries. The reasons vary: for some bankers, Treasuries are not bringing the required rate of return, particularly with a depreciating dollar; for others, now is a good time to pay down debt or help finance domestic industry. But given their large holdings, Asian countries need to ensure that any sell-off does not...

Globalisation: The Forgotten Strategy

Pankaj Ghemawat January 21, 2004
Multinational corporations have employed different global corporate strategies in their efforts to adapt to the growing mobility of capital resources. Originally, the approach was to use economies of scale to compete in foreign countries with large domestic markets. Large firms can use their size to average fixed costs over many more products, bringing overall costs down compared to their smaller...

Africa's Potemkin Deception

Michael Holman January 19, 2004
Just as the Russian Prince Potemkin once created mock villages in the Ukraine and the Crimea to convince Catherine the Great of her empire’s health, so may the continent’s modern benefactors be deluding themselves and the world about its progress, argues Michael Holman, former Africa editor of the Financial Times. Sub-Saharan Africa remains mired in poverty, disease, and debt, yet manufactured...

Deflating Bush's China balloon

William Pesek Jr. December 17, 2003
The Bush Administration is pressuring China to float its currency, the yuan, instead of pegging it to the US dollar. Administration officials argue that the yuan is currently undervalued and is thus hurting the US economy. This week, Alan Greenspan, the US Federal Reserve chairman, said that a rise in the relative value of the yuan would have little effect on US employment, as companies would...

An Ohio Town Is Hard Hit as Leading Industry Moves to China

Joseph Kahn December 7, 2003
Like many small industrial towns, Bryan Ohio has a few big employers. When one of them – the Ohio Art Company – decided three years ago to move its signature product line, the "Etch A Sketch" toy, to China, the community felt both the loss of 100 jobs and the loss of a community symbol. Etch A Sketch models used to decorate the town, but no longer. Due to "ineluctable laws of...