In The News

Pink Floyd's Money Travels Long Way to Mongolia

William Pesek October 6, 2008
Natural resources can be a boon to a nation's economy – just ask landlocked Botswana, which enjoyed tremendous growth, thanks to its diamond deposits. However, abundant minerals, gas, and oil can hinder a country's economic progress, if governments over-invest in such booming industries at the expense of building manufacturing or agricultural sectors. Without a diversified, bustling...

The Virus of Greed

Nayan Chanda October 1, 2008
Global commerce depends on an odd combination of desires, the pursuit of profits and a need to please diverse customers. “The search for ever higher returns has driven traders and financiers ever since humans have learned to exchange goods or sought to grow their wealth through investments,” explains Nayan Chanda, editor of YaleGlobal in his regular column for Businessworld. Financiers on Wall...

Scrambling to Clean Up After a Category 4 Financial Storm

Steven Pearlstein September 24, 2008
The global economy is in crisis, with giant financial institutions folding, banks refusing to lend to other banks and some countries closing, changing stock-market rules and currencies dropping in value. “What we are witnessing may be the greatest destruction of financial wealth that the world has ever seen – paper losses measured in the trillions of dollars,” writes Steven Pearlstein for the...

Aid Is Good, Business Is Better

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Nicky Oppenheimer September 1, 2008
Africa lags behind other continents on most indicators of development, largely because the cost of doing business is too high, suggest the president of Liberia and the chairman of De Beers, writing an opinion essay together for the International Herald Tribune. Record amounts of aid flow to the continent, but countries should regard that aid as temporary and enact reforms to spur sustainable...

A Door Opens for Reform in Pakistan – Part I

Paula R. Newberg August 21, 2008
With President Pervez Musharraf finally gone, Pakistan has been celebrating amidst political chaos not unusual for a reborn democracy. Major powers and neighbors who have an interest in Pakistan’s success cannot afford a “wait and see” attitude, suggests Paula Newberg in the first article of a two-part series. The current government must work to restore citizens’ faith in institutions that are...

Fundamental Failures

Merle Lipton July 23, 2008
South Africa confronts many struggles: Unemployment is high, crime has increased dramatically, and the government fails to provide even the most basic security for its citizens. In terms of infrastructure, power failures are common and supply problems are foreseen in other critical areas such as water. Such problems have impacts on the entire region. For example, the African National Congress...

A Message From Obama for Those Infuriating Europeans

Philip Stephens July 21, 2008
As Barack Obama travels to Europe, he suggests that he will invigorate relations between the US and the continent, which have almost come to a standstill during the Bush administration. Europeans are less pleased, however, about Obama’s suggestions that Europe needs to contribute more to the alliance that’s essential for global security. Some critics contend that Europeans prefer talk to action,...