In The News

The Coal Monster: Pollution Forces Chinese Leaders to Act

Bernhard Zand March 7, 2013
Under a haze of smog, China’s economic successes seem less amazing. Bernhard Zand describes acid, bleach, smoke, sulfur, soot and pollutants that assault the senses in China’s cities. “Chinese bloggers are on a rampage, and even the most loyal government newspapers are examining every aspect of the crisis and attacking those responsible for conditions in China with unprecedented ferocity,” Zand...

Citizenship of Convenience

Tyler Grant March 5, 2013
Lifting restrictions on travel visas is supposed to spur tourism. Yet a few citizens do quick cost-benefit checks of other nations’ laws, then hop on planes, relocating for benefits: With the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution providing citizenship to those born in the United States, thousands of pregnant women travel to give birth, thus ensuring those children access to US public education....

A Report Card for Global Food Giants

Stephanie Strom March 1, 2013
NGO Oxfam has developed a scoring mechanism to evaluate multinational food companies and their effects on the environment, labor and health, reports a New York Times blog. “The goal of the scorecard, called ‘Behind the Brands,’ is to motivate consumers to pressure companies like Nestlé, Kellogg and Mars to improve their policies on land and water use and the treatment of small farmers, among...

Horsing Around the Global Food Chain

Nayan Chanda February 18, 2013
Regulators in Britain tested the DNA of meat in packaged lasagnas, labeled as beef, and discovered some containing more than half horsemeat. Fast, convenient, affordable frozen and processed meals – often marketed to the poorest consumers – have complex supply chains with many subcontractors for the many ingredients, explains Nayan Chanda, YaleGlobal’s editor. Intense competition and lingering...

An Interview with John Dramani Mahama

John Dramani Mahama February 18, 2013
In an interview with Nayan Chanda, Ghana's Vice President John Dramani Mahama, now President, says how stigma of homosexuality hampers fighting AIDS, talks about the role of telecommunication in political transformation, voices concern about NATO attacks on Libya, and Ghana's effort to avoid the curse of wealth from natural resources. – YaleGlobal

Is China Choking on Success?

Robert A. Manning February 15, 2013
China’s citizens are paying a steep price for rapid economic growth. The government struggles to mask environmental problems, yet China is home to seven of the world’s 10 most polluted cities. Smog often blankets the nation’s cities. Robert A. Manning, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Brent Scowcroft Center for International Security and former US State Department official, points out that...

Real Criminal Element: Lead

Kevin Drum January 10, 2013
The US had a noticeable decrease in crime during the 1990s. City mayors took credit, and economists also pointed to correlations with the aging population, reproductive rights, reduced illicit drug use and an improving economy. But these correlations were imperfect. Another possibility is that lead in gasoline contributes to low intelligence, hyperactivity, juvenile delinquency and violence, a...