In The News

The Age of Vulnerability

Joseph E. Stiglitz October 20, 2014
Studies confirm that inequality continues in the United States as income rises for the very rich but stagnates or even declines for the majority. Economist Joseph Stiglitz describes a study from the UN Development Programme for an essay for Project Syndicate: “America ranks fifth according to HDI, below Norway, Australia, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. But when its score is adjusted for...

Health Care Gaps Increase Vulnerability to Ebola

Laurie Garrett October 6, 2014
Ebola will test the world’s diverse systems of health care. The United States is alone among advanced economies in lacking a universal health care system, and its health care costs more per capita than that of any other country. A system with unequal benefits makes the country vulnerable on two fronts: US hospitals offer state-of-the art treatment, a plane ride away, for the insured or those with...

The Political Implications of Latin America's Slowing Growth

Eric Farnsworth October 3, 2014
Brazilians head to the polls, and the results could be a bellweather for the whole region. Latin American economies have flourished during the last decade due to growing worldwide demand for their copper, iron ore, meat and soy. However, the region can anticipate a slowdown as the world continues to recover from recent economic crises and as growth subsides in China, their main market. Regional...

Dubai Housing Costs Soar

Matt Smith and Praveen Menon October 3, 2014
Immigrant labor has helped build the skyscrapers and infrastructure in the desert city of Dubai, but home prices have skyrocketed to Manhattan-like levels since 2008, forcing many residents to move out of the city. According to the Mercer cost of living survey, Dubai jumped 23 spots on the most expensive cities list this year, landing at number 67. In the first half of 2014 alone, home prices...

Foreign Funding of Think Tanks Is Corrupting Our Democracy

John B. Judis September 17, 2014
Foreign governments donate millions to US think tanks to promote their positons, suggests a report in the New York Times. Research costs money; donors, foreign or domestic, may influence topics of research, sources and conclusions. “Washington think tanks, which were originally intended as a source of impartial, objective, and disinterested information, have become arms of foreign as well as...

Israel Faces International Criticism for Land Grab Revenge

Inna Lazareva September 2, 2014
Soon after the rockets and bombs stopped falling with the long-term ceasefire between Israel and Palestine, Israel dropped a bombshell of an announcement. The international community quickly condemned Israel’s plan to designate more Palestinian-claimed territory near Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank as “state land,” paving the way for more Israeli settlements: “More than 300,000 Israelis live...

Companies Fear Radical Turn in Argentina

Benedict Mander August 25, 2014
Argentina has defaulted on its bonds twice since 2001. The country had settled with most bondholders, but the terms of some loans required disputes settled in US courts. A US judge sided with the minority, ruling that Argentina could not avoid the holdouts. A defiant Argentina swiftly responded with a swap plan to continue paying most creditors, but not the holdouts. Foreign firms doing business...