In The News

Mongolia in Globalization’s Chokehold

Mark Juergensmeyer October 19, 2012
Landlocked Mongolia is in the heart of Asia, a land of great mineral resources and of rapid change since it abandoned communism in 1990 with the breakup of the Soviet Union. Mark Juergensmeyer, director of the Orfalea Center for Global and International Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, visited shortly after that transition and more recently – ascribes many changes to the...

No Ancient Wisdom for China

James McGregor October 8, 2012
Economic growth and steady job creation stabilize societies. Yet China has unleashed a form of capitalist growth that few other nations dare follow, what author James McGregor calls “authoritarian capitalism.” The system achieves rapid economic growth based on tremendous government support for state-owned firms, led by powerful Communist Party leaders. But analysts and reformers in China argue...

A Turning Point for China

Jean-Pierre Lehmann October 1, 2012
China’s progress since the first half of the 20th century is stunning and indeed inspiring. The nation that once rejected globalization, set out to rapidly transform its global reputation, from being pitied for horrific poverty to envied for stable economic growth. The world economy has come to depend on China, notes Jean-Pierre Lehmann, international political economist, in a quick review of the...

US Economy – Muscular or Obese?

David Dapice August 16, 2012
The US, with great potential for economic growth, still could rescue the dragging global economy – the country’s energy development, agricultural output, steady labor force, and education programs all offer promise. But the US has immediate challenges, argues economist David Dapice, including rising inequality and high youth unemployment rates. Young workers often bring innovations to workplaces...

Global Rebalancing: Now or Never

Stephen S. Roach July 19, 2012
Recent history – the Latin America debt crisis, the US subprime mortgage crisis and now the European debt crisis – offers a lesson that global imbalances are unsustainable. Lured by false promises of future growth, countries borrow big, risking prosperity and stability. Global growth is in question: Wary of debt, US consumers have tightened spending; India and China, as emerging economies, cannot...

US Law’s Positive Impact on Africa

Humphrey Hawksley July 10, 2012
With the sentencing of a Congolese warlord at the International Criminal Court, whose charges included employing child soldiers, the wheels of justice turn in Africa. Another unexpected source, too, is helping Africa. The Dodd-Frank Act was designed to reform the US financial system after the 2008 credit crisis, explains Humphrey Hawksley, BBC News correspondent, and Section 1502 addresses so-...

A Plague on All Houses

Pranab Bardhan May 2, 2012
In China, India and the United States – political leadership is trapped in systems of governance that reinforce power, encouraging short-term gain with grave long-term costs. Complex policies mask dysfunction, curtail innovation that threatens the status quo, and ease corruption for those in the know. Dysfunctional government is unleashing inequality and dangerous populism in all three nations,...