In The News

Colin Meyn January 8, 2008
Iran’s strict adherence to theocratic principles has historically led it to muzzle such perpetrators of poison as rock bands, women singers, political dissenters, and other marginalized groups. In 2007, the scene changed when a film documenting Iran’s evolving underground music scene was screened internationally. Beyond the reach of the censors, this film – Sounds of Silence – might generate the...
Morton Abramowitz January 8, 2008
China, Japan and the US may not enjoy the most comfortable of partnerships, considering each nation’s competitive streak and occasional differences over trade, global governance and security issues. But the partnership works and is improving, with the potential for resolving many regional and global problems, explains Morton Abramowitz, former US ambassador and senior fellow at the Century...
Anand Giridharadas January 7, 2008
As the conduit connecting service providers and consumers grows transparent, middlemen lose jobs. Illiteracy once guaranteed business for letter writers, but a growing economy that provides the resources for education, and affordable cell phone services has left letter writers jobless. This development appears to harm middlemen, but the jobs that technological advances generate more than...
Nayan Chanda January 5, 2008
This column for Businessworld in India explores the many facets of globalization manifested in all aspects of life. By exploring the interconnections of the globalization forces, columnist and YaleGlobal's editor Nayan Chanda hopes to build better understanding, pointing to the dangers and opportunities. Like it or not, humanity is bound together by invisible threads of connections born of...
Susan Froetschel January 3, 2008
Despite exponentially-advancing understanding of economic forces over the 20th century, Adam Smith’s invisible hand continues to elude. In his recently published book none other than former Chairman of the US Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan essentially throws up his hands. Every time a financial crisis hits the world, like the current turmoil caused by sub-prime mortgage lending in the US, calls...
Sarah Childress December 31, 2007
Forced to drop out of school at age 14 because his family could no longer afford tuition, William Kamkwamba of Malawi set out to study energy and build windmills on his own. “Energy poverty” limits development, economies and jobs in the world’s poorest nations, explains Sarah Childress for the Wall Street Journal. Kamkwamba, now 20, built his windmill, by lashing blue-gum tree trunks together for...
Richard Haass December 21, 2007
Some analysts suggest that recent elections in Europe, combined with the 2008 presidential race promising new leadership for the US, will improve transatlantic relations. Think again, warns Richard Haass, president of the Council of Foreign Affairs, in an opinion essay for the Financial Times. Stable alliances require a measure of predictability, and Haass writes that “The 21st-century world is...