In The News

India’s Tragic Pandemic Lockdown: BBC

Soutik Biswas March 31, 2020
India has more than 1.3 billion people, and about 20 percent live less than $2 per day. So after the government imposed a lockdown to top the spread of COVID-19, many Indians lacked shelter, food, savings or other protections. A government order turned most into refugees overnight, creating a humanitarian crisis and worsening the coronavirus threat. “Work and wages dried up after India declared a...

Post-Pandemic World: Al Jazeera

Fahd Humayun March 30, 2020
Responses to crisis that resist fear, focusing on analysis and repair, will minimize damage. The liberal international order that emerged after World War II was “ gradually eroded by the combined forces of globalisation, poverty and the unresponsiveness of mainstream political parties to local discontent,” explains Fahd Humayun for Al Jazeera. Recent erosion of that order led to inequality,...

COVID-19 Not Globalization Crisis: Financial Times

Robert Armstrong March 18, 2020
Global and community leaders most understand the nature of the COVID-19 crisis to develop effective strategies. The crisis calls for global cooperation rather than competition. People may pursue fewer person-to-person connections, but will still rely on global communications and data on best practices. “The virus has revealed the hidden costs and fragility of global supply chains, triggering a ‘...

Countries That Contained COVID-19: New York Times

Benjamin J. Cowling and Wey Wen Lim March 15, 2020
China reports new infections of COVID-19 have slowed with strict containment measures and travel restrictions. China also discouraged home quarantines and set up special monitoring locations. Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan have deep ties to China and prevented massive outbreaks without drastic shutdowns, explain Benjamin J. Cowling and Wey Wen Lim for the New York Times. The measures include a...

COVID-19 Frontlines in Italy: Politico

Greta Privitera March 11, 2020
COVID-19 spreads quickly, and confirmed cases grow exponentially in countries that test and release results in transparent ways. An article for Politico suggests that Italy’s doctors struggle against an onslaught of cases – an assessment that neglects the greater number of nurses and other health care workers who are truly on the frontlines: “hospitals are scrambling to increase the number of...

Denmark the New “American Dream”? PIIE

Jacob Funk Kirkegaard March 2, 2020
Denmark may represent a new version of the American dream, as voters and Democratic candidates in the US presidential race seek secure benefits, especially affordable health care. An OECD study suggests that low-income families in Denmark, due to reduced inequality, can enter the middle class in two generations whereas low-income US families require five generations. Such reduced inequality comes...

To Hell With the Truth: Folha

Flavia Lima February 19, 2020
WhatsApp and other social media platforms increasingly influence public perceptions during election campaigns. A parliamentary committee in Brazil is examining the spread of misinformation on social media and finds disturbing trends, including a tendency for confirmation bias. A data analysis firm demonstrated how some Brazilian officials support misinformation on official social media accounts,...